The Sapphire Amulet
by ebtwisty9
Summary: AU: Ship watcher Bella is kidnapped onto a pirate ship where the captain, Edward, had sworn to never let a woman except for his family to set foot. Can Bella prove her worth? ExB
1. Prologue

** A/N: Hiya everyone...I admit that I haven't been writing for the longest time. School has never been so busy, and I'll have to be the sad bearer of news that this story most likely won't be updated much until the beginning of June. Being a Junior in Highschool, the standardized testings that I will have to take in the next two months or so will basically decide what kind of college I will be accepted at after my senior year.**

**So here is my long-promised pirate story. I'll need to use it as a sort of stress-reliever, so try to bear with me if it turns out to be really bad...Chapter 1 is almost done...I'm going to update that once I get most of my 3 other papers started and half way done (trying my best for later this week, since this is so short)**

**Disclaimer: all recognizable characters, plot lines, and etc belong to their respectful owners. (will apply for the entire rest of the story)**

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There were times in life when you wished time could just stop and leave you alone for a moment – for even just one tiny little moment. I needed time to think things through. I don't think I'm ready to meet Death, no matter how angelic his voice sounded like. I wanted to think, but the cloaked figure before me wasn't giving me the time.

Time. Such a simple word, yet so complicated. A new dimension that never stopped, never gave respite to its ceaseless movements. If it could travel backwards, I would have made sure to never climb on that ship. Better yet, born in another family so this would never happen.

And yet, if I had never climbed into that ship, I would never have received the Medallion, met the one I loved, and enjoyed so much of the past year on a pirate ship – a ship I've always dreamed to go upon.

It all started with a story…the story of the most powerful relic that has ever lived. And, like all such legends, the story left everyone to doubt its truth, for the ending always went "and it was never found again." It led countless ruthless men seeking for the treasure that never was, and it brought hopeless hope to many more.

However, this story – this one, single story – was the only one I had ever believed in. I didn't know why I had, only that my heart told me I had my fate closely entwined with it. Perhaps the main reason was that so many pieces of it were true, it was hard _not_ to believe it:

A thousand years ago, lived a tyrant King who drew away every last penny of wealth from his people. Only he had money; not even the nobles had more than scraps of poor jewelry. During this time rose three great wizards: Aro, Caius, and Marcus, who drew the common people together and overthrew the king. In precedent years, the wizards crowned a new king and gave him a present, and then disappeared without a trace.

Father always said that the present was a pendant that held a treasure. Rumors had it that the present was the key to access infinite riches and that the Kings still had it today. Mother, however, told a different story. She said that hundreds of years ago, a King lost the shell-shaped pendant. He had traded the pendant for his life when captured by a notorious pirate, Robert Jenkins. The pirate, who never discovered the secrets of the shell, made it into a medallion within which he put a map of his treasure trove.

However, the medallion was never seen again when the pirate's ship sunk after being hit by an iceburg. Mother said that one day the medallion will be found again, and that whoever carried it will either end up living in paradise or dying in hell.

And here I am, dying in hell.

But that is not what saddens me. My angel was not with me – and that fact alone means my eternal damnation.

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**Tell me what you think! I know this is really short...but I thought it sets the mood and gives the basic background on which this story is set. There are still parts in the plot I need to smooth out...but I'll write as I go and see how everything turns out.**

**Thanks,**

**Cathy**


	2. His Last Trip

**A/N: It seems like Fanfiction likes to duplicate my first sentence all the time...because it did that for the prologue and for this chapter's title. I have to say, though, that this chapter is more like a true prologue (something that happened before the story) than the other one...but that doesn't really matter.**

**Anyways...just in case you can't tell, the story will be written in first person, Bella's point of view. :D**

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**Chapter 1: His Last Trip**

My mother and father separated ways ever since I was two. My mother said that she'd rather spend her life on land rather than a ship. Father, being captain of the navy, could not give her that wish unless he left her for extended periods of time. She, unwilling to leave me without love from a mother and a father, soon remarried Lord Phil of Rochester.

I would spend my winters in Rochester, studying and learning how to become a "Lady", but my summers were always on board Father's ship, the Graceful Swan. He always called me a monkey, quickly learning to swing from rope to rope, often ending somewhat ungracefully in a puddle of cloth. The men on the ship were very unfriendly at first…but I guess Father's nickname, Key, helped them to ignore my gender, and treat me more as a cabin boy. "Key…" Father had said "Key to my happiness."

The sea always loved me more than the land, and I was never as happy in Rochester than on the sea. Father, keen as he was, quickly noted my talents: how I always knew when a storm was approaching or which direction we were traveling, or whether there was another ship coming …all by natural premonitions.

The only person I had ever had trouble with was Leon the First Mate. He was apparently the First Mate in a legendary pirate ship, but he never spoke about it. The summer when I was seven, Father had to deliver an important guest from the southern tip of England to Melody Port in northern Scotland…

The Lady Martha Mingle stepped gingerly on the gangplank, cursing softly under her breath when she nearly slipped on the matted moss. Her maid scurried after her, carrying trunks and bags so heavy she looked as if she would topple over any moment.

I saw them waddle across onto the ship from the watch mast, then swinging down to the deck by the nearest rope, landing heavily on my heels and wincing as my calf protested against the heavy, jarred fall.

I looked up to see the Lady staring at me as if I was a watermelon that dropped out of the sky. I supposed my ungraceful jump caused much of that. Attempting to cover up my embarrassment, I greeted cheerily, bowing, "Hello, Lady." When she didn't respond, I looked up, only to stare down at the deck again to hide my laughter. She seemed to have seen a ghost!

I jumped when I heard footsteps behind me. Three…two…one…duck! I ducked just as someone's arm swung at where my head was a split second ago. He chuckled. "Well squirt, nice to know I can't knock you out anymore." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You can't knock out a pirate!" I made a face, quickly dashing away as a shoe flew out of nowhere. The Lady gasped. Leon cursed. I grabbed a stray hanging rope and swung back beside him.

"Leon, here's the Lady," I quickly introduced. To my surprise, the burly Leon actually bent over and kissed the woman's knuckles. Her dazed expression cleared as her complexion quickly went into a mixture of embarrassment and amazement.

"It's certainly nice to know that not everyone hop down out of nowhere!"

"Miss Key o'er here knows no manners," he snorted. "An' I doubt she e'er will." He trained his eyes on me. "What're ya doin' here? Get the Lady to her cabin! Off with ye!"

Scrambling, I helped the Lady's maid carry the hefty trunks below deck, leading her to the spacious wood-paneled room. As I helped the maid get the trunks settled, I heard the Lady muttering about insane little girls running around big ships and the _improper_-ness of it all. I couldn't help but smile to myself. If only she knew!

That night, a cold feeling settled around the ship. The winds had shifted, and I couldn't sleep. I drifted onto deck, sitting by the boom and feeling the salty air around me. "Key! 's not yer watch! Go back to sleep!" the watcher called from the crow's nest.

"I can't sleep. You'll have to leave me here or let me keep watch instead." The watcher stared at me as if I had gone insane. Maybe I had…I wasn't making much sense.

Ignoring the looks I was getting, I sang to keep myself in company. My mother used to hum it to me all the time: Meine Liebe.

_The little boat, so frail and small_

_Sailing in the wind_

_But when asked what's its call_

_It answers…_

"_Freedom is my only calling_

_I search it all the time._

_And when I finally found my ending_

_Then I shall be home again"_

"Pretty song," a voice said to me. I jumped.

"Thanks."

"Why are you up so late?" I turned. It was the Lady's maid.

"I could ask the same of you."

She smiled. "For someone who's so tiny, you've wit."

"Never judge a person by his cover."

"So I learned." She paused. "You avoided my question."

"I couldn't sleep. It's going to storm, and something didn't feel right," I answered truthfully.

"Me, too."

I laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're sailor material!"

"Nay, I'm shipsick enough without doing all the climbing and swinging that you seem to do."

"Ha!" I shouted indignantly, "If you grew up on a ship where the men would randomly play jokes on you, you'd learn, too."

She laughed at that, but then yawned. "Good night…" she said, pausing. "You never mentioned your real name."

"It's Bella: Isabella Swan, but call me Key," I answered. I respond more readily to Key. "And your name is…?"

"Maria. Pleased to meet you, Key," she said before climbing below deck.

My ill feeling eased with the chatter, but never went away. If it's still there tomorrow morning, I'll have to tell Father to check the maps. The air smelled too chilly and turbulent for the area of the sea we were supposed to be heading toward. With that, I dozed off with my back to the main mast.

--

By morning, my feeling had only increased in intensity. Father and I charted a different course through the waters, but that only seemed to make the feeling worse. There was a strong current…it was pulling us in circles.

My eyes widened. _In circles_.

Darting into the captain's cabin, I pulled out the entire map of the charted waters and plotted out the course we were supposed to take along with the possible wrong turns. Breathing quickly with terror, I ran with the map to where Father was standing on port side with the Lady Mingle.

"Father!"

He turned, suddenly alarmed. "Key, what is it?"

"Iceberg territory."

His shock was plainly shown by my simple words. "Are you sure?"

I nodded my head. "Positive. Air is chilly and too still, and we're circling what is most likely the Monument where water seems to drain."

Leon stepped up. "Same feeling here, lass. Was wonderin' when you're going ter bring it up."

Father was silent. He looked at me thoughtfully. I shook my head. It was too late to change directions in hopes of avoiding it. We were already held enthralled in the strong current. Only lifeboats powered by ceaseless rowing could escape.

"What are you talking about?" The Lady. I had almost forgotten about her.

"We've entered the iceberg territory: a place where strong peculiarities occur. Icebergs here are completely submerged. Ships would travel in deep water and suddenly run aground on the hidden icebergs. And wherever a new iceberg forms, a new whirlpool comes to life. But everything ends up in the center, even the winds. A tall steeple-shaped rock marks the center of the great maelstrom: the Sinkhole," I explained. Turning to Father, I said, "we can try to avoid the center, but I've a feeling that won't work any better than going straight for it as we are doing now."

By late afternoon, the storm settled in. The turbulent, sudden waves dashed upon the deck and swiped everyone off their feet, and giving them an unwanted ice bath. The air was heavy and saturated. It hadn't rained, but the squeals of thunder and the flashes of lightning gave proof enough that this won't last. To the east, where the ship headed toward, lied darkness thick as a wall – like an ominous devil.

The Sinkhole.

Father shouted orders left and right. Men scurried on the wobbly, tilting deck, pulling out the lifeboats. Others lowered them into the water and jumped in. The Lady and Maria were dropped, literally, into the first boat before the men paddled away against the strong current of the maelstrom.

I stayed by Father's side the entire time. I was afraid, yes, but I knew better than to leave him all alone. He would stay with the ship and die.

"Key! Get your little bottom away from yer dad and help with the main masts! For goodness's sake, can't ya tell we're in a dire situation?!" Leon.

Jerking myself out of my watchful state, I surveyed my surroundings. Most of the crew had gotten on the lifeboats. In fact, the last one was about to be lowered. Grabbing a wildly swinging rope, I swung onto the boom and tied down the sails that had escaped their original confines. They were slippery; the air was cold. With the numbing rain that had began to fall, my fingers turned numb. Over the howling wind, I didn't hear footsteps behind me. One second I was finishing tying a knot, and the next second I was being hauled off the boom. Before I realized, I was thrown into a lifeboat with Leon close behind me.

"Where's Father?" I shouted to him over the wind. He didn't answer.

And that's when I saw him. Father was still on the ship by the wheel, his hunched figure illuminated by the never-ending streaks of lightning across the sky.

He was not going to leave his ship. Father never stopped loving Mother, and when she left him, she left behind a small chest of valuables. He could never abandon that chest. He would stay with the ship and the chest until his dying moment.

I cried out, but I knew it was no use. A flash of lightning illuminated the tall stone column that stood in the middle of the Sinkhole, the _Graceful Swan_ just seconds away from hitting it. A clap of thunder drowned out my screams…and the scream of the ship as it was torn apart and taken to the bottom of the ocean by the current. When the next lightning lit the sky, the _Graceful Swan_ was no longer there.

Leon turned to me, digging in his pocket for something. "Your father wanted you to have this if something should befall on him. It was your mother's wedding gift to him. He always wore it, intending to give it to you when the time comes; and now it is yours."

With that, he handed me a small, delicate heart-shaped blue amulet.

And since that night, I have always worn it.

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**Hehe...didn't really want to end the first chapter in a tragedy...but I want you guys to get a feel of what kind of environment Bella was brought up in (most of this chapter is Bella's memory of when she was seven). And before I forget, I'll have to say this: whenever I get a good inspiration for a story, I tend to think off the top of my head. And when I do that, I sometimes draw upon memorized phrases or settings from favorite stories (fanfiction or from books)/etc that apply. So...if you see something that you recognize from another story or something, I do apologize for my apparent lack of creativity, and here's my disclaimer that those parts aren't mine.**

**Tell me what you think :D I'm about half-way done with Chp. 2...and I can say that I'm having so much fun writing it XD. I'm hoping to get it out next week sometime...but given the amount of stuff that are due...can't promise (unless I start massively procrastinating...which I want to do, but can't).**

**--Cathy**


	3. A Pirate Ship!

**A/N: I've been a very good procrastinator (goodness help me). I've already had this written even though I've way too much stuff to do. I just realized how close the first few chapters resembles another story posted on this site. (It's one I've read sometime ago, and I just found it again by stroke of luck). The story's called Deep Breath (a Lily and James Potter story) by an author I don't recall off the top of my head. I'm going to try to go down the path I've originally set for this story...and if any of you thinks that the resemblance is too much (since I've been known to be a little biased), I can remove this story and start another one or something...I don't know yet...  
**

**But yeah...I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.**

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**Chapter 2**

The ship jerked, startling me from my reverie. I rarely ever daydream anymore, much less about that night, when two of the lifeboats also ended with a fate similar to the _Graceful Swan_: their men weren't able to keep paddling against the current until the early morning when the Sinkhole disappeared for an hour.

Shaking my head free of the images that formed, I looked out from the crows nest. The tiny speck in the distance that I had been scrutinizing was now much clearer. The deep blue flag with a faint white pattern hinted of a foreign ship. It had been following for the past hour or so. I sat down and fiddled with my fingers. If it was a pirate ship, it would be launching an attack within the next thirty minutes, I reckon.

The ship was battered, but that could be as much of a trick as the truth. Battered ships were often ignored, even pirate ones. Had I not been so experienced and could tell that it was trailing, I would never have regarded it as a threat until the ship took us on by surprise.

"A ship, captain!" I shouted down. He squinted at me. "You sure, Key? Not one of them birds that you see?" I nearly wanted to throttle him. Since when was I ever wrong?

"Aye, sir! A ship, quite worn by the looks of it."

I looked in the distance again. The ship is catching up faster than I would have thought. I could see the flag clearly now. Pirates, definitely.

"You see anything else?"

"Crew of about twenty-five, sir, looking desperate, sir," I answered, keeping my eyes on the flag. My heart thumped erratically in excitement. Finally it's a pirate ship!

"Perhaps the men are as worn out as their ship," I heard the captain mutter. I wanted to kick some sense into him. But then, the watcher's advice is usually ignored as unimportant. I rolled my eyes. Talk about himself.

"Fire!" A cannon boomed. _Great job, Captain,_ I thought. _You just told them we noticed them_.

Checking my dagger on my side, I looked up again. I could see their watcher in the crows nest, shouting things and looking frantic. Smiling, I waved enthusiastically. Two seconds later, a stream of curses flew over the sea between the ships. I harrumphed. Some men just don't know the proper way to greet someone.

"Fire!" The cannon boomed again. Staring, bored, into the distance, I counted the number of misses without even looking…that is, all of the shots. Don't these men ever learn to shoot properly? When the ship's within shooting distance, it's not easy to miss that big hulk!

The pirate ship took out a wide plank, and as the ships' distance closed, I began to watch the fight going on below.

The pirates were good. There were five that first boarded, their pale, smooth skins seeming to glow in the shadows of the sails. Two of them were clearly girls: they moved with grace and dexterity, but they had a soft draw. They never killed, only incapacitated and moved on. One of them was dark-haired and tiny like a pixie. Hers was cropped short, as if she attempted to fit in as a man. The other was blonde and beautiful. I doubt any of the ship's men actually wanted to hit her, even though her skill was only just enough to overcome their stupefied attempts at fighting.

The three males were as skilled, if not more, than the two girls. The leader had untamable bronze hair. He had a whip in his hand, which he used to knock people off their feet. He worked hard with another man: a big muscular one. While the whip knocked people off their feet, the burly man quickly tied them up or killed them to his liking. The other man was a sword-wielder: blonde haired and tall. He would have a distinct advantage over my short height if we crossed swords. They were going through the defending crew like mouse through cheese! Not to mention there seemed to be at least thirty other pirates streaming across the plank; some already began looting!

My ship's crew, however, wasn't doing so well. As more pirates poured in, the men fell back and were slaughtered. I saw Jim, the first mate, successfully wounding one before another pirate snuck up on him with a stab.

A sudden breeze brought the stench of blood from the fighting below. I knew I had to slip down there now, or risk fainting before I even drew my dagger. Grabbing a handkerchief to protect against rope burns, I grabbed a mast line and slipped down, knocking out two pirates before they knew what hit them. **(A/N: if you've watched the movie Mulan, imagine Bella sliding down the rope like Mulan did when rescuing the emperor)**

Holding my breath, I started my count. "Three." I drew my dagger out and clunked on a head with the hilt. "Four." Dodging a stray blow, I wrapped my hand around the sword and twisted. With a spinning kick that knocked his feet from under him, I plunged the sword into his body. "God, I hate doing that!"

There was a whooshing sound. I ducked without thinking, and a flying knife flew past where I was a second ago into another pirate. I turned around, suddenly meeting a pair of shocked emerald-green eyes: it was the man with the whip. I saluted to what was obviously the pirate leader. "Thanks, sir!"

Darting away, I resumed my count. "Six." I liked performing a riposte: turning their weapons back against them. The smell of blood was everywhere now. Stealthily moving toward the rails of the ship, I took better pleasure using the dangling ropes. "Eight…Nine." I grabbed a rope and swung myself around my opponent, suddenly kicking him from the back and knocking him into the sea.

And then I met one of the first five that climbed aboard. He was the swordsman, and his expression was unreadable. I heard it before I even realized it. Stepping aside, I narrowly avoided being hit in the back by another flying knife. This time, though, I caught it by the hilt, and quickly threw it across the ship. The knife sliced through a dangling rope easily, just as a pirate was using it to swing. Then a 'plop': he fell into the water. I turned around. It was the man with the green eyes. I nodded toward him in thanks, again. He seemed to be fuming with anger.

The next moment, the blonde man shifted. Without even thinking, I raised my dagger to block. Tumbling and rolling, his sword missed me every time. Smirking, I launched into a complicated series of movements, climbing and jumping off of crates. He was good – matched me hit by hit with vigor. My concentration in its entirety turned on the man: so much that I was too late to completely dodge a stone. It hit my hand; my dagger clattered to the ground, and I was suddenly weaponless. Dodging each hit, I surveyed my opponent.

"I can make this fair." My words distracted him. He aimed for my neck, but I stepped to the side at the last moment, my fingers catching the blade between them. Before he had time to react, I twisted my wrist sharply, and the sword was flung into the air. Leaping quickly onto a few boxes, I jumped, flipped, and caught the sword before landing back on my feet. Thank the gods I had enough luck to keep myself from tripping for so long. I weighed the light sword in my hand as he drew out his second one. Smirking, he launched into another attack.

As if in the distance, I heard a man order, "Command your men to surrender!" I chanced a look around me. Everyone was either dead or alive and bounded. I knew the only reason the stench of blood hadn't gotten to me was because of my proximity to the sea and of the strong breeze blowing the smell to the other side. The captain was under the eye of a pistol held by the pirate leader.

"Key, stop," the captain said. I heard the slight tremor of fear.

"No."

From the corner of my eyes, I saw the man raise his pistol to me. A second later, the shot rang out. I knew he missed without even checking, but I was confused. He shouldn't have missed me…he knew the range was too short for me to dodge away. Without missing a step, I parried the blonde man as he took advantage of my nonexistent distraction and went in to disarm. Raising my eyebrow at him, I heard Captain Pirate snap, "Jasper, finish it."

Jasper, my opponent, quickened his steps. The swords clashed in the middle. Our eyes met. As if on a cue, we withdrew together. "Tie," I said, smiling.

He nodded. "I'll be looking forward to finishing that duel." I tossed his sword back to him and went back to pick up my dagger. As I did, a booted foot stepped on the blade.

"You don't seriously believe I am going to let you keep that after your display, are you?"

I didn't say anything, and made a swipe at him. He was prepared for it and grabbed my elbow instead, twisting until my back was pressed intimately against his chest; his arm was tight around me. Biting my tongue against a gasp of shock, I wriggled until one of my hands was free. Smiling, I asked nonchalantly, "And what are you going to do if I just did?"

"Make you walk the plank." His voice was harsh but soft, his breath blew against my ear. If I didn't know better, I could almost say he wanted to seduce me. Twisting around, I pushed myself away from him.

"You and what weapon?" His eyes narrowed at me. I saw his hands reach for the pistol on his belt and then felt for his whip. Neither was there. Grinning, I took both from behind my back. "Looking for something?" As I twirled my new whip around, he took a step back. I tossed both back to him, which he caught easily, and bent to pick up my dagger. After returning it to its scabbard, I handed it reluctantly over, too. "Alright, tie me up."

--

They bounded me and locked me in a cage. I've surveyed the lock: they had a lock chain as if afraid that I'd take them by surprise by somehow slipping away. I snorted at that. They chained the locks together in a ring, never realizing that only one of them was actually the door lock; and being padlocks, I could just pick open that _one_ and all the other ones would fall away. Since the last meal, which was of burnt bread and soup that threatened to make me die of thirst, I tried to free myself of bounds and try my hand at those locks.

Ever since that night when Father died with his ship, I never had any contact with Mother. At first I tried to find her, but the housekeeper of Rochester Manor had forbidden me to step in. She knew me, but it was as if I had never spent five winters of my life with her, studying under her care.

Leon took good care of me. I smiled, remembering how he always taught me tricks to free myself from a sticky situation…like now.

Fingering the knot that tied my hands together, I found the loop. A sailor's knot: the longer I kept at picking it, the tighter it will be. Gently and stealthily, I wriggled my fingers until my thumb was in the loop. That accomplished, I tugged harshly, and my hands were free. Checking my wrists for rope burns, I was satisfied to see that I hadn't whipped myself with the rope yet.

Now the locks.

Being a girl had its quirks, for, in the process of disguising myself, I've learned all sorts of places where I could hide small items. Picking out a lock pick from my hair, I stuck it inside the very last lock. Smiling to myself when it clicked open, I stealthily made my cot to look as if I was asleep, relocked the door with its chain of padlocks, and crept away. The kitchen was my destination…if all went well.

The ship was dark; no lantern lit the dark cabins, or the narrow passage way that led from the deck to the cellars. Following my instincts, I cursed when I tripped over a stray box and landed heavily on the floor with a loud _thump_. Cursing silently at my luck, I darted into an open door.

As I held my breath to calm my racing heart, I suddenly realized that the dark room was not empty…and its occupant had realized this as well.

"Just what do you think you're doing in my room?" a cold, emotionless voice asked.

Still with my back to him, I remained quiet, as if oblivious. It was only when I felt something cold and hard pressed against my back that I turned around sharply, faking a gasp. In the dark, I could faintly make out the shape of a burly man. _Dang,_ I thought, _I just missed my cue_. Without giving another thought, I wrapped my hand around his arm. Jerking sharply, I grinned as his shotgun fell nicely into my hands. His hiss of pain told me well enough that he was expecting everything but _that_.

"What do you want?" I squinted at him. He knew how to keep cool. Impressive.

Still saying nothing, I took out the two bullets in the shotgun handed the gun back to him, and slipped out the door, running, fingering the five bullets from the gun and from his pocket that I picked.

The cool sea air hit me full in the face when I emerged above the deck. Climbing deftly onto the boom, I grabbed a line to climb up to the crow's nest where the watcher was practically drooling in his sleep. From above, I could survey every detail of the ship.

It was worn, indeed. The railings had deep scratch marks, and the furnishings on the wood were worn. I wondered where the ship will land for repairs. With the flag of the pirates flying above the main mast, I doubt many ports will accept this. Swinging down to the deck again, a strong, sudden breeze swung me such that I lost my hold on the rope. Tumbling on the deck to break my fall, a pitter-patter of bullets told me that they rained on the deck, too.

Clumsiness was kicking in full force this night. Angry rope burns slashed across my hands. My stomach reminded me of my original destination. The kitchen. Below deck. Right.

I surveyed the ship again, and suddenly I didn't want to go down. I felt almost helpless without my dagger, but I had an insane urge to help the ship get repaired. She needs a heck of a lot of repair jobs…for example, the half-torn sails.

I knew I wasn't strong enough to remove them all by myself. Instead, I found thread and a needle from the storage room, wrapped myself around a rope, and began my stitching hanging. I guess the most amusing part came when Jasper saw me just as a strong sea breeze blew me upside-down.

"That's an interesting way to sew the sails," he called out.

I only smirked. "It looked like the sails needed amusement, too," I called down. Wrapping my feet around the rope again, I quickly righted myself. I heard him chuckling on the deck.

Finished with one hole, I quickly slipped down the rope. Measuring another length of string, I was going to cut it when a sharp, angry voice asked, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I asked. I peered at who I was speaking to. _Captain Pirate_. I felt my heart squeeze when I saw my dagger at his side. _I'll have to get that back later_.

He didn't bother answer. "How did you get out?" he asked instead.

"Through a door. Do you expect me to walk through a wall?" I returned to my needle and thread. Pulling a small knife from my boot, I cut the thread. I folded it into several layers, pretending not to notice the fuming captain beside me. After I threaded the needle, I turned to him, putting on my best mock-serious face. "You should teach your crew how to best use the lock…and check the locks themselves."

Turning, I measured my length of thread and decided that it was long enough. It was quick work getting to the next spot on the sails that needed repair. "You know, _I_ should not be doing this kind of repair. As captain, _you_ should get your men to take the sail down and repair it instead of standing there like an angry idiot." Wrapping the ropes around my legs so I stayed at the same spot, I sighed when the wind toppled me upside-down again. The captain was still staring at me in a mixture of shock, anger, and…curiosity?

"Speaking of which, I need to thank you, formally, for those two dagger throws." His expression changed to one of outright fury. I saw Jasper put a calming hand on him as I righted myself…again.

He was still there when I finished sewing together the rip…after pricking my thumb six times.

When I landed on deck again, I turned to him. "I'm serious when I said that you should be taking care of your ship. And I really don't think standing at that spot unmoving is called 'taking care of the ship.'" Pulling out more thread, I continued speaking. "So what are you going to do with me?"

"Your captain and most of the crew on your ship are dead: they tried to run off," he replied, sneering.

"Aye, you'd think I would know that by now. Anything else?" I smirked at him again.

"And I've decided to let you stay. Whatever the rest of the crew decide to do with you is fine with me."

"Thanks for the warm welcome," I said sarcastically. "Now, if you will, leave me to my sewing or help me."

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**Just as a note: This isn't a Bella and Jasper story...no matter what it seems like right now. Hehe...I guess I really enjoy getting Edward off balance. And I bet you guys can guess just who Edward is ;)  
**

**Also note: Esme and Carlisle are not on the ship...but they're going to have some role to play later on. Everyone's human, I've finally decided :D**

**Enjoy! and don't forget to leave a thought :D**

**--Cathy**

**P.S. I'm having a little bit of trouble thinking up a name for the pirate ship...any ideas? **


	4. Promise and Tricks

**(A/N): Heya everyone :D Thanks so much for all of the reviews! I didn't reply to every single one because I didn't really know what to say sometimes, but know that I read them and appreciate them all :D I think I've decided on the ship's name, but I've still yet to find a good spot to say the name at the moment...**

**Anyways, here's the third chapter. I just hope I didn't make the others look too dumb...hehe :D**

**Added: Many people have asked whether the ship's people think that Bella's a guy. The answer is Yes. Bella had to disguise herself as a young boy in order to be considered as a watcher in the old ship. And that hasn't really changed now that she's on a pirate ship. ;) I hope that clears up some misunderstandings/confusions :D**

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**Chapter 3**

I wanted to bang my head on a wall. They tied me up as soon as I had a free moment. I might as well say goodbye to my carefree reputation at the rate this was going.

They tied me to a cross, thinking that when my arms were apart, I couldn't untie myself. They just never knew how easy it was to get free of knots and ties…but I wasn't about to tell them that I was free when they were all staring at me.

They were mad. That I could tell. I had killed their brethren, I guess, so they had reason to. The captain also left me at their mercy. However, at this rate, I'd die of boredom before they actually decide on a '_torturous_' plan, as they put it.

Cannibals, all of them. Apparently, their so-called torture all involved me getting baked in an oven and sooner or later ending up in their stomachs. Have they absolutely no creativity?!

Forget that…I won't die of boredom first. I'd most likely die of disgust before boredom.

At that moment, the door banged open. Perhaps this man would be more creative. He recognized he was the burly man.

"Do I not get a share?" he said, his voice low and menacing…or at least, it sounded like he _tried_ to make it menacing.

"No you don't. You're not special enough to join in the _fun_," I said, unable to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

His eyes focused on me then. "I'm afraid you don't get a say in this, boy." He then attempted to make himself look _manly_, chest puffed and arms bent as if to show muscles. "I've killed for comments less than that."

I shook my head. "And how many were being offered to you like sacrificial victims?"

He slapped me. It stung. A lot. I kept my face unreadable. "Never thought you'd be the slapping type," I commented. That's going to bruise later. He didn't say anything. The next second, he punched me in the stomach. I felt bile in my mouth. Spitting it out, I sighed. "Not bad, that one."

"That was for flinging me into the sea with that dagger throw."

I had to laugh at that. "Thank your good ol' captain for that dagger, not me." I paused. "You make good belly flops. How's the belly?"

"Doesn't hurt as much as yours."

Smirking, I couldn't help but add, "Knew I should've aimed for the belly instead of the rope."

"You should watch what you say." He had a dagger in his hand. I eyed it carefully.

"How long since you last sharpened your dagger?"

I had caught him by surprise. Not bothering to wait indefinitely for an answer, I quickly loosened the ropes tying me to the cross, plucked the dagger out of his hand, and sliced my palm with it. I held my palm for him to see: there was not a mark on it. "And you were planning to cut my tongue with that?"

"How do you know-" His eyes squinted at me. "What is your name?"

"Key," I chirped. "And yours?"

"Emmett." He seemed shocked that he was answering my question.

"Great! Wonderful to meet you!" I flashed a fake grin. I made to leave, but he pushed hard on my shoulder, forcing me to keel.

"_You_ don't get to leave just yet." I shrugged in reply. It wasn't as if I had actually expected to get away anyways.

He turned to the others, asking whether the captain, Edward, his name was, gave any orders. Everyone shook their heads glumly. I smirked. "Hey captain! Emmett wants to ask you a question!"

Edward stepped out from the ship's cabin. As soon as he saw me, however, his eyes grew furious.

"What do you want?"

I shrugged, pointing to Emmett. "He wanted something, not me."

"What kind of reason could he find that'd stop you from getting his tongue?" Edward said to Emmett. I rolled my eyes.

"He never sharpened his dagger in who-knows-how-long." His eyes turned to me. They looked almost black with fury.

He didn't say anything. He pulled out a skinny dagger. "And how about this one? It's sharpened just for you."

I wanted to giggle. He was being ridiculous. "Aye, and just how big of a puddle do you want to make of my blood on your _unpolished_ deck? You should know that once the blood gets to into the wood, it'd never come out unless you replace the entire plank, aye?"

"Drown him!" someone yelled.

"Won't do…you'd only set me free." They looked at me, confused. I sighed, how dim could they be?! "I can swim."

"Tie you up and then throw you!"

"Haven't you realized just how fast I can untie knots?"

"Tie a cannon ball – "

"But you don't have one."

Edward turned on me. "How do you know we don't have one?"

"One, you just told me. Two, if you had a cannon ball, you'd have used it while seizing the ship yesterday."

"And what if we saved it?"

I laughed then. "Oh, so you saved the cannon ball not just to fight, but to drown me? I should be honored to be thought of so highly!" I sighed. "But you still don't have one."

Edward's face was livid. He turned abruptly away when I raised my eyebrow at him and paced around the deck, pinching the bridge of this nose. I didn't say anything for a few seconds. His shoulders almost seemed to sag in relief.

"What must I do to shut you up?" He gritted.

"Kill me, silence me, but if you really want my inability to speak, let me work," I replied with all the seriousness I could manage. Maybe I had a chance to live until we dock at port…maybe not… Apparently, that idea seemed to annoy him more than my previous chatter. He resumed his attempt at walking a hole into the ship and drowning himself.

"You know, the best way to sink a ship is not making a hole on the deck? You should walk a hole in the hull instead."

I guess I pushed that last button. The next moment, he pulled out a gun and pointed at me. "I can shoot this, you know? And this time, I won't miss."

"You want to use that last bullet on me?" I smirked. He didn't say anything. His smile turned almost evil.

"Yes."

Smiling, I raised my chin up. "Then I shall be honored to die by your last bullet." I had hid all the bullets on the ship or threw them into the sea. I only left one in his gun. I stared into his eyes. He was standing so close; I could feel his breath stirring my hair under its bandana. And his eyes were such a vibrant green, made livelier by the fact that he was fuming.

_Come on, shoot me_, I thought, even though I knew he couldn't hear. _I dare you to_.

His finger on the trigger wavered, and then he broke away, back to his pacing. He couldn't do it.

Midway through his pacing, he threw the gun at me. I caught it easily, fingers automatically going to the latch.

The gun was empty.

He never could have killed me with it anyways.

"I want a bullet back into that gun by tomorrow morning," he said, turning away. And then the light caught something glinting in his hand.

It was a shiny bullet.

Staring at his retreating shadow, I slowly smiled in victory.

He had accepted the deal.

--

_I am going to kill Emmett!_ He made me haul ten buckets of water up into the crow's nest, and then decided that there was too much weight for the wooden boards to handle, made me bring five of them down, only to find that the buckets had not enough water…and made me repeat the process after retrieving the remaining buckets from the nest.

Afterward, he made me swab the deck when the buckets of water I was supposed to use were _all in the crow's nest_! I swear, next time he wants me to swing up and down the ropes with a bucket of water, I will have my payback.

But now…I still have to swab the deck.

And the water had turned rainbow colors in the sun.

I gritted my teeth. So _now_ they gave me the deck polish…and wasted quite a bunch, too, by dumping it in the water. I changed my mind. I am going to kill the crew instead.

I wondered what Leon would say if he knew the practical jokes that the crew and Emmett played on me. He'd tell me to fight back – turn their tricks back onto them. Ingenious, really, but quite hard to do if circumstances weren't right.

I looked up. Ten of the ship's crewmen were standing directly in front of me, their boots dirty as heck from who-knows-what, and smirking at me. "I hope you can enjoy your baths," I muttered. Only two of the men looked shocked. I'll start with them two first.

The ropes were extra slippery when I used them to swing around. They smirked at me when they saw me slipping, but I only smiled back.

"I have a mop and a voice, and I'm not afraid to use them," I proclaimed to them. Stunning your opponents is often the first step to making them respect you…and to defeat them. Twirling the mop around my wrist, I caught it and made to swab the deck again. Only…I didn't.

Some outrageous sweeping motions, ten shrieks, and ten 'plop's later, the deck was well polished and free of the scoundrels. I was surprised they didn't put up more of a resistance. The mob swept them cleanly off their feet, quite literally.

"Help!"

I looked into the water, and there they were, struggling in the gentle waves from the ship. I slid to the nearest pile of spare ropes, laughing out loud when I realized they were drenched in oil and deck polish. _The idiots, they never thought that _not_ drenching everything in cable just might save them_.

Lassoing it, I went back to the railing and tossed the rope down and tying the top into a tight knot to the post. They swore when they touched the dangling ropes. And before long, I was introduced to the colorful vocabulary of the ship's members…although some were much more amusing than colorful…

"You seven-tailed goose-son of a flying donkey! Why in the world did you dump the idiotic god-forbidden oil on the god-forbidden rope?!"

"Me?! I wasn't the one who wanted that fox of a lad dead as a doornail!"

That was when I saw Captain Edward and Jasper walk out from the cabin. I whistled to them and pointed at the sea behind the ship. Jasper was mildly amused when he walked over, towing a suddenly-annoyed-looking Edward behind him.

"No more whistling…you make us seem like dogs," Edward muttered, as if cursing himself for something. I pretended to not hear, and continued whistling, making gestures, and pantomiming until they looked out to the sea.

Edward squinted at the horizon as if searching for unknown ships. Jasper, who winked at me, even pulled out a telescope, which was quickly snatched away by the captain. After a few minutes of observation, Edward seemed still oblivious of the struggling men right underneath his eyes. Finally, he turned to me. "There's nothing there."

Grabbing a scratch of paper from his pocket, I wetted my finger and drew two men, a line, and a block of wood. Jasper was practically breaking down in amusement. He most likely knew what had happened already. Edward was only making a fool of himself.

"Person?" I shook my head, no. "People? Man?" Edward asked. His eyebrows were furrowed together. He was literate, I knew, but it was much more fun to play pictionary. "Over?" A nod from me. "Block?" No. "Wood?" No. "Plank?" No. "Board!" he exclaimed. I nodded happily, masking my urge to laugh hysterically. "Man overboard!" He turned around and looked out right by the ship.

And there floated ten of his men, teeth chattering, trying to swim mightily after the ship, and still swearing with apparent vigor. How he could ignore all that swearing from right below his ears, I had no idea. Jasper chuckled when he found the rope I had tossed down slippery as heck…and Edward narrowed his eyes at me.

I wanted to comment, but had to bit my tongue. It would not be good to break that deal at this moment.

"I thought you said _man_?" I shrugged in answer. I drew two _men_.

--

"Are you trying to tell me that this skinny lad here _mopped_ you all overboard?!" boomed a fuming Emmett, pacing in fast circles around the room. "Are you pirates or a bunch of little girls?" There was a synchronized groan throughout the room at the loud noise and Emmett's quick pacing, but no one dared say a word. I couldn't help breaking into an amused grin, which caused several of the crew members to glare at me. "And who was it that dumped the oil onto _all_ the ropes? If the ropes weren't so slippery, you idiots won't be in bed shivering!"

I knew I had to get away from the room. The ten men were in the cold water a _bit_ too long…and by the time Jasper finally found a cable that was _not_ oiled and pulled them all out of the water, they all ended up catching high fevers before the night set in.

Slipping quietly out, I practically ran onto the deck and spilled my laughter. I'll have to go inside later to bring them their tonic and set peace. With a little luck, they won't be trying to kill me anymore.

--

"So how are you all feelin'?" I asked, bringing a tray that the Cook, Rosalie, provided with.

"You!" one of them yelled before suddenly groaning and falling back into bed.

"Aye, me." I paused. "But considering you've a headache, fever, chills, and all that jazz, I wouldn't be as hostile toward your caretaker if I were you."

"They stiffened. One of them muttered, "Don't worry 'bout it. We don't hold grudges." His accompanying sneer told me otherwise.

"Nice way to finally meet ya," supplied another. The fake niceties were permeating the air.

"So how's your fevers?"

"How's your back?" one of them, Dominik, sneered.

"It's alive. I wasn't expecting a seagull to appear this far from land _and_ wear the rope out just as I reached the top, that was for sure." Laughing, I realized how ridiculous that sounded. "I have to praise you for that work. Never thought you'd have the creativity."

"Anytime. Had to praise ya, too. Never thought you could single handedly land us all in water with a _mop_ from one moment to the next. Aye, you're like this slug I once knew who became too selfish." His voice lowered. "Ya want to know what happened to him?"

I didn't want to know what happened to the slug. "Na. The mopping was to get rid of these ten stinking beetles off the deck because they seriously smelled bad."

Dominik started. "Ya watch what ya say, lad! I've –"

"You killed men for lesser insults." I finished it for him. Smirking, I asked, "were they actually men or were they still depending on milk?"

"You watch for them seagulls. They will feast on you one day," he hissed.

I only smiled. "And you watch out for deck swabbers. They can actually make you into a fish's meal one day."

The others laughed. Two seconds later, he joined in. "Alright, we trust ya won't try ter poison us in Her Cook's famous tonic. Bring it!"

I poured each of them a cup and then passed a bottle of rum. Laughing heartily with them, I counted myself lucky. Ten down, four more to go.

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**Yay Bella! :D Next chapter, she (hopefully) can make peace with Edward, Emmett, Alice (who's yet to be introduced fully), and Rosalie ;)**

**Your comments are always appreciated :D I might not reply to every single one, but I do read them all :D leave a note and tell me what you think!**

**--Cathy**


	5. Making Peace

**A/N: I was really busy the past week and a half...so this came out later than I thought it would. I like how this chapter turned out...although I'm probably not going to say that as time goes on and I realize that I should've done something to set something else up...but I'll worry about that later.**

**And I want to say thank you to all my reviewers. The reviews help me more than I could put in words, even though sometimes I am stunned and don't know what to reply.**

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**Chapter 4**

"Don't even _pretend_ innocence!" Emmett shouted. "I _know_ it was you!"

"Do you _want_ the ice or not? I can always bring a bucket –" I started…he cut me off.

"What do you want?"

"You stop trying to work me to death," I said nonchalantly. "I could even go so far as promise that buckets won't fall randomly out of the sky to drench you and give you a concussion, speaking of which, I've a bucket of ice here that might go well on your head."

He almost seemed to blanch at the thought of the ice _and_ the bucket landing on top of him. "And what makes you think I won't whip you until I see your bones instead?"

"Oh several things," I responded, smirking. "First of all, you're incapacitated to the extreme. The only reason you haven't fainted from your previous shouting episode is because you're lying down. You try lifting your head up and I'd bet you can't." He _did_ try to lift his head up at that point, but he fell down with a groan, clutching his head in pain. "Tut, tut. Don't you ever heed the wise words of mine?"

"Never," he said childishly.

"Now, secondly, your captain has conveniently lost his whip. His sword ended up in a sack of flour, which was somehow left in a tub with water leaking directly into it. And the bullet I put back into his gun was glued in place." I tsked. "He needs to learn to take care of his stuff."

"All your doing, if I bet my life on it," he muttered.

"You don't know that." I paused. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen him for the past three days." Taking the bucket of ice I poured some water into it and a cloth to soak it in before putting the cloth on Emmett's head. "Now, truce?"

He nodded grudgingly, turning his head childishly away from me to admit his defeat and grumbling about how I was just avoiding the captain's fury. "You just wait," I heard him mutter.

Honestly, it really was an accident that I decided to string all the buckets of water together in order to carry it up in one trip. Without the crew to play tricks, the ropes were amazingly clear of oil and junk. It seriously wasn't my fault that Emmett wanted me to follow through the carrying water procedure and he startled me from below when he yelled for me to be faster. I tried – I really tried to be faster, by my foot slipped on the rope and I started falling. Realizing that the water was too heavy for me to save, I let it go, grabbing onto cables and swinging myself safely to the deck instead.

A moment after I landed, I heard the crash of the water buckets as all of them tumbled down – I was almost at the crow's nest when I lost my footing. There were ten crashes and then a loud thump as Emmett fell onto the deck. Apparently, he had moved right under the water buckets. It seriously _wasn't_ my fault. Alice, a short, pixie-like woman with spiky hair (and she was the doctor), had glared at me, as did Rosalie, when Emmett was taken into his cabin to be treated. My food was extremely terrible these days compared to the others. Sighing, I knew I still had my kitchen duties for the day. Maybe I could calm Rosalie the Cook enough to make myself a meal. It was not like she knew how to cook anyways…

--

The kitchen smelled like a filthy alleyway. Half-rotten tubers were mixed in with semi-fresh ones and potato peels were scattered all over the wooden floors. I could have sworn it was not like this just a day ago…but Rosalie blamed everything onto me and I _had_ to clean up everything while she peeled even more potatoes for me to clean up.

I watched stealthily as she tried to mix too much into a pot too little. _I really don't know how to go about this_, I thought, sighing in defeat. The men, I knew how to handle. Women were tricky things. They don't always act the best way, nor do they always have the best of humor. The only way I knew of was to treat stubbornness with stubbornness. Smiling, I hurriedly swept all the wastes on the ground into a sack and tied a knot.

Without asking permission, I tossed a few potatoes and left-over vegetables onto a wooden board, whipped out a knife from my boots, and began furiously chopping as the Cook finished stirring an ugly-looking stew the color of vomit.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

"Just what do _you_ think I'm doing?" I snapped back. "It's called chopping potatoes. I'm sure you've heard of the art."

"And what makes you think you're allowed to touch food?"

"_This_ is for myself," I pointed to my small pile of chopped dried onions, potatoes, and dried carrots. Pointing to the giant stewpot, I said, "_That_ is for the crew. So why can't I touch my own food?"

She opened her mouth and closed it, as if wanting to say something and then changing her mind. I just smirked, first stewing the potatoes in a small bowl until they were mushy and then adding in the onions and carrots. A pinch of salt and a dab of pepper, and _my_ stew was ready. It was almost pure white with floating bits of orange carrots and almost transparent onions. Potato stew: probably one of the only things I could cook without burning a finger.

And she just stood there, watching me as the kitchen was soon mixed with a wonderful smell and a more…compromised one. She flinched when she smelled it.

Ignoring her completely, I brought my stew over to the small wooden table, sat down, and tasted it. The first spoonful brought back the memories of my very first stew. Leon had taken me to the forest, teaching me to pick mushrooms and find edible plants. I burnt through practically the entire food supply that first night before finally learning that mushrooms were _not_ supposed to turn black and hard when cooked…neither should anything else. At least I'd learned better since then.

Rosalie was proud. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as she stared forlornly at my stew and then at hers. She was struggling to ask for help. I counted in my head the seconds until the words flood out. Five…four…three…two…one…

"You can cook," she burst out, staring at me oddly.

"Selectively," I answered curtly. "More satisfied eating my own creation than yours."

Her ears turned pink at that. "The crew, even Emmett, always wanted to say that, but never dared to," she said softly.

"If you keep that pretty nose of yours up in the air so much, you can't expect people to be truthful." She laughed dryly.

"I should take offense to that, but I feel as if I am more amused."

"Good, your head is coming out of the clouds," I laughed. She had a good humor.

And then she suddenly lost her smile, and turned serious.

"Teach me to cook, and I'll forgive you as long as you don't cause trouble!" I put on a mask of shock.

"What?"

She hesitated. "I-I'll stop..." I raised an eyebrow. "Stop making so much trouble to you, I mean." She was flustered, turning even pinker in the ears.

"I'll cook if you can chop," I offered, deciding that her embarrassment was enough. Any more, and I'd be making an enemy instead of a truce.

She brightened, offering a hand to shake. "Deal." Her grip was firm: she would not go back on it any time soon. However, she was far from an ally. I _had_ offended her no matter how well she hid it.

--

Dinner that night was marginally better than before. I tried to salvage the big mesh of off-green stew. It ended up turning slightly brown, but at least tasted somewhat decent. Everyone was so pleasantly surprised that even the captain stared at me in amusement when Rosalie said I had helped. His lips were curled into a half-smile as if he wanted to laugh but struggling to hold it in.

When dinner was finally over, I was exhausted. Carrying a tub of dirty dishes, I tripped over a stray chair leg. Watching as the floor came up to meet me, I tried to twist around to set the dishes down before they break. But…it turned out I didn't have to.

At the last second, the tub was wrenched from my hands, but I was too late to break the fall with my arms. My left shoulder throbbed in pain; I felt heavily winded. I had to stay immobile as the pain receded to a more bearable level.

And when it did, I opened my eyes to see a short pixie-like woman with the tub of dishes in hand. Alice. "I have certainly never seen anyone use a sword with such grace but end up on the ground like a lump of wood."

I blushed, swearing softly to myself. "The flat surface loves me too much allow me such apparent grace," I answered flatly. "How may I help you?"

She smiled. "I believe I know that what I am seeing isn't who you truly are."

I stiffened at her words. People don't look for more than they see. If they saw a young boy, then they don't seek to see anything more than a boy…and what they don't seek to see, they don't see at all. That was the only reason I was able to encroach on so many escapades as a ship's watcher, a boy's job.

Forcing myself to relax, I asked, "And just what do you see in me past this façade?"

She just shrugged, suddenly happy. "I don't see past your mask. I see what is going to happen because of it." She winked at me, enthusiastically grasping my hand and shaking it. "We're going to be good friends, I can see that." And…with an over-exaggerated bow, she left me.

For the first time in countless years, I felt stunned. That was certainly easier than I thought it would be. But then I was also on the edge. What did she mean?

--

"Howdy captain!" I greeted the bronze-hair, fair-skinned man who had taken command over the ship. He jumped, his knuckles suddenly turning white clutching the cable he was securing down.

"You aren't supposed to talk," he said, turning to look at me while tying another knot. His mouth was set in a frown, but his eyes were curious, amused. And when he straightened up, I realized just how _tall_ he was…I measly height was barely above his shoulders. Glad that I had enough sense to stand far enough away that I didn't have to look up so much to meet his eyes, I smirked.

"Don't even pretend to act angry. You're never going to become an actor."

"And just _who_ said I wanted to be an actor?" He paused. "Don't sidetrack me. I can kill you for your breaking the deal."

I just smirked at him, walking around him in a full circle. His eyes followed me, curious but guarded. "First of all, if you can't act, don't even try. Second, you've naught on you to kill me with except your bare hands."

I was standing in front of him again, fingering the hilt of my father's dagger…it was mine now for the past ten years. No matter how I wanted to temporarily ruin the blade to protect myself, I couldn't. Leon had a small store of Father's old items. This dagger was the only one preserved well enough to actually slice through bread…and just about everything. The blade was made from sparkling maratite-embedded steel: sharp enough to cut through practically everything. It was the most prized of all my father's possessions apart from the box of my mother's items and his ship.

He cleared his throat, startling me from my reverie. He had seen the dagger in my hands. But, instead of becoming anguished, he looked as if he was amused to no end. "Why, you're a little thief!" He chuckled. "And the fact that all my other attempts being thwarted are your doing, too, and don't even deny it."

Caught unaware, I almost gawked at him. "This is mine in the first place, so you're the thief," I said, trying to excuse myself. To my amazement, he started laughing. "It was my father's. The blade says C.S. –" I snapped my mouth shut. That was too much information, and those who were loose-tongued always ended up dead.

"But you can't deny you tried to _steal_ it back." He had chosen to completely ignore my last sentence. I sighed in relief, becoming mischievous.

"And just what are you talking about?" He stared at me in shock. His hand had fallen on the hilt of the dagger I was holding just a second ago. And then, a slow, crooked smile spread across his face.

"You will get this back once we dock. It'll be safe in my custody until then," he promised. I saluted to him.

"Aye, thanks," I said. Preparing myself to swing up to the watcher's position Emmett had finally allowed me to take, I grabbed a rope and swung around to him, winking. "You need to work harder to keep that cool façade from me, _Captain_. Or else your crew might think you've softened up."

As I climbed away, I heard his snort.

--

The port looked much closer now. Perhaps an hour, maybe two, and the ship would be docking. Excited, I swung amidst the ropes and cables, feeling suddenly free for the first time since I arrived on the ship. _Eclipsed Twilight_, it's called, sounding so mysterious. I had given the name on the stern side a makeover. Alice had stared at me, amused. "Swirls and twirls on lettering? Never knew a _boy_ to be so creative."

"There's a larger sky than the sky you see," I had muttered, feeling incredibly idiotic.

"Somebody feels happy," a voice called. Jasper.

Grinning, I let go of the rope, laughing shrilly the entire way down. I hadn't calculated my landing right. The next moment, I crash landed in a puddle of deck polish, slipping, and knocking into the nearest person: Edward. He reflexively caught me, surprised that I had such an indignant fall.

Straightening up and flushing, I called out, "Good day to you, too, Jasper…and Edward." Edward only grunted, seeming to take my last warning to heart. Jasper chuckled.

"I've been waiting to get to Sarijam port for _weeks_!" I earned more chuckles. Composing myself, I asked, "What's your plan here?"

"Getting the ship repaired and then be on our way," Edward replied curtly, handing me my dagger. "You can be on your way as soon as we dock."

Resisting the urge to act like the child I sounded like and sticking my tongue out, I answered, "I don't think we'll meet again. So…have a nice life." Turning to Jasper, I offered my hand to shake. "When you take the ship to the repair, go to Bromden's shop and tell him to give you a discount."

When the ship docked, I sprang deftly away, catching a cable to swing to the land, feeling at once exhilarated and dizzy. Alice was somehow directly in front of me. "Don't say goodbye to what you'll return to," she said, handing me a wrinkled piece of paper. "You will come back if I ever have a say in it." And with that, she disappeared down the street.

I looked down on the wrinkled piece of paper. On it was a brief description on where the family would stay at and a departure date. At the bottom were the words

_You will be there, even if you try not to._

Heading home, I wondered what it meant before setting it aside to examine later. I saw my old friends down the street, chatting away. It was time to announce my arrival.

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**So what d'ya think? I've several things planned for the next chapter...and I'm really excited (aren't I always? lol)**

**You know what's kinda odd? I'm not even half way done with this one, and I've already kinda sorta started on another story. The basic plot is planned already and I've the prologue written...but I don't think I'm going to publish it on the site until I'm done with this one, or else I'll never manage to update anything...(insert blush here)**

**But anyways...tell me what you think! :D**

**--Cathy**


	6. When you need it most

**A/N: hehe...I know this chapter's late, but I was really busy the past two weeks. My history teacher had a 7-page paper that was supposed to be due next week, but he pushed the deadline up a week and a half earlier than usual...so I got distracted by that. And also...I had my Student Research presentation just today. It had to be the largest presentation I had ever given. About 40-50 of kids/adults in my school came to it, and at least 10-15 more had to be turned away from my presentation room just because it got to be so full. I think I did well on it...at least, in my book, the ability to make the audience laugh at your jokes is always a good sign...but I'll see when I get the score sheet.**

**I was particularly enjoying this chapter...but I had to cut it a little in the end and put the ending part (you'll see) in the next chapter. I'll continue at the end so you guys can read XD. Chapter title is suppose to be read in conjunction with the next one...which will be "it will appear" ... so the phrase is "when you need it most, it will appear" ;).  
**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

-Interlude-

The amulet…that's all I had sought for. Even if I mastered the art of those _stupid_ wizards, I still need that last relic. Yesss…that single amulet would allow me to live forever. He said so, and he wouldn't lie to me when his life was on such a thing thread. _Marcus_, always the careful one, but also fearful, selfish.

It took me much more trouble than I could've strived for to find the amulet. I had to bring myself half way between the rift of life and death, always walking on a single path with the breadth of a hair. For fifty years I had done so, and for fifty years I had not changed in looks. My Victoria followed me, faithful as always. At first I had feared for her motives, but that fear was soon replaced by satisfaction. She could never leave me even if I told her to.

Nevertheless, her presence made the fifty toiling years more tolerable. The spell was still strong. Heck, as long as the amulet _existed_, the spell will always be strong: the spell that kept me from becoming a full _shade_ – one powerful enough to break the series of protections around the royal family and take the throne. Aro was too careful. He locked the source of the spell into an amulet instead of a person. A _thing_ is much harder to find, to track. It'll be his fault, whatever fate will befall on the keeper of the pendant now.

I let my eyes roam over the smoky ruins once known as the Rochester Manor. The Lady of Rochester was a stubborn one. She had the amulet…I traced the line all the way to her. But she kept on saying nothing about it. I saw the flicker of recognition when I described it. Renee Rochester knew the whereabouts of the amulet.

And so I threatened her. She never budged. And once she did, I killed her. I'd like to think of it as _mercy_. She could never truly rest alive, anyways, knowing that the lives of ten of her staff _and_ her husband died on her behalf. I looked at the heart-shaped pendant in my hands, sneering at it. She made a ruse and I fell for it. The amulet she mentioned was never the same relic I needed. It was a fake!

For six months I had believed that the amulet she had was the true Sapphire Amulet, only to have a passing gem specialist tell me that the sapphire was fake, the gold was fake. Even the metal bearings were fake. I had labored hours over trying to open it, unravel its magic, and then using that very magic to destroy itself without success…and now I found that it never had a clasp in the first place!

And I started my tracking again.

Renee Rochester was not always a Rochester. She had married Captain Charles Swan and had a daughter: her only child. The child was tricky. Even when only seven, she spotted the error in the ship route too early. She had escaped the shipwreck even if her father didn't. I had gotten rid of _that_ particular agent. He never escaped in the dingy either.

And then for _five_ entire years, I had lost all traces of that little brat. She was like a feather: once she passed through, there was no hint that the feather ever existed.

Luck was on my side the day I came across a ship. She was in it, I knew. She knew something was amiss, even if she couldn't see me. Under my scrutiny, she shifted, finally swinging from the main mast to a group of bawdy sailors…and I lost her trail…_again_.

She was unlike anyone else I had to track before. She was too quick, and she seemed to have an extra built-in sense that alerted her whenever something was wrong. I only knew her last name was Swan, but nothing else…_nothing_.

I looked around the small cabin I paced in. It was dark, the candle light flickering, casting eerie shadows on the walls. A knock sounded, and then Victoria stepped in with a plate of bread and a bowl of stew.

"Victoria," I greeted. She nodded in reply.

"Still no news of her?" I asked. She was in the market today.

"A new girl seemed to pop out of nowhere in Sarijam two days ago. Everyone seems to regard her with care. Even the street tramps dared not to go near her even in the darkest of nights, in the darkest of alleys," she answered. "She's known as Bella. No one seems to know her surname."

Sarijam was a small port. For a _girl_ to be so revered, she'd have to be here often. She had already made quite a reputation of herself…

"Apparently, she's a prankster, too, but the sheriff shuts his eye in her direction, as if trying to bring her to the law is useless and hopeless," she continued.

"But still, no one knows her surname?" I questioned, surprised. She shook her head in reply.

I grabbed a piece of bread, chewing on it distractedly, occasionally dipping it into the thick, flavorless stew. I looked up, smiling when I saw Victoria's eyes on me. She knew me well: she knew I was going to give orders.

"I want her ambushed," I said. "I want to play around with this girl and see if I can get something out of her."

She grinned, her lips looking suddenly brighter. Giving her a light kiss on the lips, I turned away back to my pacing. The amulet was important. I'd already traced it to the Swan child to port, but for the past two months, nothing strange had happened. No one knew anything. I was very subtle, living on the outskirts of town, waiting, watching. The chances that this new girl was my target were very slim. However, I was not going to let it slide. I looked out the window. I could see the dark shadow of Victoria moving quickly in the shadows. She would have news for me when she comes back…

- End Interlude –

"Seriously, Angela, do I absolutely _have_ to wear this…_contraption_ whose main goal is to strangle me?" I gasped as she pulled the last strings tight and tied the knot.

"Yes, _Bella_. Now that you're back again from who-knows-where, you have to dress not like a tomboy." Stepping away from me, she turned me to face her. "I will never know what you find so likable about those trousers and shirts."

"Then you should try it. A dress is so…_constricting_." She only snorted in reply.

Pulling on my boots, I shouted goodbye to her. As I left from the back door of her little shop, I heard her muttering about her disapproval of my choice of footwear.

Outside, the sun was beating brightly. The maritime climate of Sarijam makes the port an ideal place to dock even during the frigid winter months. It never snowed, the roads never got cold enough to freeze, and an incessant breeze always brought cool temperatures during the summer and warm temperatures in the winter. That was why I loved it so much. That was why Leon decided to call this _home port_ for both of us.

As I walked through the streets, I noticed how the people seemed to pause in whatever they were doing in order to nod a greeting at me or to scoff at the fact that I came back. There existed only two kinds of people in this port: the ones who really like me and the ones that don't. Foreigners from docking ships never counted. They were indifferent, you see, but they never stayed long enough to truly join a group anyways.

And it never seemed to matter whether I tried to come in hidden or walking brightly out in the sunshine. Word always passed whenever I set foot on the port. "Bella's back again," they'd whisper to each other, and the word passed on.

The pranksters, of course, seemed to want to get the most out of everything. Most I knew by name, but there were always new ones that joined some gang or another. I suddenly halted. Spying the two oblivious boys who had followed me, I kicked up two rocks and tossed them. It hit their heads perfectly. As if on cue, they turned around to glare at me, only for their eyes to widen in shock when they saw me, and they ran away, whispering furiously with each other.

I chuckled. I should watch what I think about.

Turning away from the sunlit streets, I stalked into a cavernous alley. I had always wondered why Leon liked to keep to the dark. But then I found out the true reason: the night time sharpens and heightens each sensation **(A/N: yes, I'm quoting from phantom of the opera, lyrics for Music of the Night)**. It provides a shelter for the sharp and knowledgeable, but a time to be feared for the others. And slowly, gently, if you are patient, night will unfurl its splendor.

And yet, my favorite time had always been twilight: the break between night and day, when everything was tremulous and people start to bustle away from their work. It always gave a thrill, knowing the velvety air yet fearing the unknown.

I stopped outside an unmarked door at the end of the alleyway. Knocking on it thrice, I entered, only to duck a second later when a fist came flying at me. Turning around quickly, I grabbed the wrist and twisted, cursing that my dress prevented me from reaching into my boot for my dagger. The stranger groaned. I suddenly dropped his wrist. "Leon?"

"Aye, 's me you pesty squirt! Who else knows this place and lives here?" he muttered, rubbing his wrist. "Pulled quite a stunt on me, too. I should've stopped your seafaring trips."

I grinned. "You know you love it!"

"You want your wrist sprained too?" He made to grab me, but I darted out of the way, slapping his hand aside.

"No thanks," I said. "Wrist sprains are your specialty, not mine." He laughed at that, but then became somber.

"Be careful when you go out in the alleyways, Bells," he said, leading me to sit by the small kitchen table. "There are some inquisitive ears around. I've a feeling they're going after you."

My hand automatically traveled to the amulet around my neck, feeling its familiar heart-shaped curves beneath my dress. "Why?"

Leon said nothing. He looked as if torn between wanting to spill a secret and knowing that he could not. Sighing, he said, "I will tell you once I find out." I narrowed my eyes. He was lying. He winced, knowing that I picked out his words, but I dropped the topic.

"What's new?" I asked instead. He relaxed, chuckling.

"The street muggers, that's what." I raised an eyebrow. "Big boys, they are…all muscles and no brain. They're professionals, that I can tell, but brute strength and how to use it is all they know," he explained.

I nodded curtly. "They might stay away from me. They should know, by now, what happened to the others."

He laughed. "Our locals sure try to protect the dignity of their kind!" I only shrugged. I really had no idea exactly why the street muggers stopped trying to take revenge on me. Maybe it was because of the time they sent their entire gang after me – all thirty of them – and all but one found themselves hanging upside down by their right foot from the roof of the government building. The last one I left to be messenger. Perhaps it was after the time when their leader marched through the street with guns all over his trousers, only to be drenched in oil and flour. I think his guns went out of business for the seven days it took to clean out the gun cartridges and make everything working again. Or…it was because the time every single one of them lost their key into their clubhouse, only to come in two days later bombarded by a total of four hundred fifty-five water balloons that drenched and flooded everything. Whatever the reason, they learned to stay away from me and try to warn their newest additions to also stay away. It never worked.

"However, I don't think you should count on it. These new ones aren't so easy."

"I'll be careful."

He glanced out the window. "Are you staying here for the night?"

I shook my head no. Not now. "Port festival is just next week. Jess and Angela will murder me if I don't show up for their dress-picking tonight, now that they know I'm back."

Leon just laughed. "As if they could!"

I shrugged, chuckling. "What they don't know won't harm them." Winking and waving goodbye at Leon, I made my way out the door. I paused. "I might be back later tonight."

He nodded.

--

Dress shopping with Angela and Jessica had to be the most boring thing ever. They fawned over each pink sash or yellow ribbon and awed whenever they saw little gems embedded into any piece of fabric. Honestly, I had no idea how they could live in such a material world. My hand traveled of its own accord to my amulet again, reminding me that I lived in one, too.

"Bella! Look at this one…do you like it?" Angela was staring at me, dressed in an off-white dress that ruffled and swirled as she moved. However, with her dark hair and dark eyes, it washed out the rest of her features.

"You look like a ghost," I said. She frowned at the dress, quickly darting away.

"Bella! Does this one fit?" Jessica. I scrutinized her. The golden-rod dress clung to her body. The collar was low and wide, which made it seem as if her breasts were about to spill out.

"You tell me, Jess," I said. "Does the dress seem to fit?" She snorted a 'no'. I laughed. "Then what makes you think I will say otherwise?" She shrugged, turning away to change into something decent.

Two hours later, I was completely out of my mind. The night had settled in, and I was exhausted even if I had done nothing but sit in a chair and comment. I even counted how many tiles were on the ceiling. There were exactly six hundred ninety-five little tiles…I counted seven times to check.

And when they next came out of the dressing rooms again, I burst. "No more!" I yelled. The seamstress, Lauren I think, glared at me. She was one of those who disliked me very much. I didn't care. Clothing-shopping in her store abhors me.

Jessica pleaded me to stay; Angela gave me her best puppy dog eyes. Sighing, I mumbled a list of profanities. Angela whacked me, I didn't bother to dodge it. "Bella," she scolded, "I am _not_ the seventh daughter of a cactus and stingray. If you really want to go, just say so. You don't need to be rude."

My eyes brightened at that. Angela looked shocked at what she just said. And before she could correct her words, I darted out of the shop, calling out a cheery "bye" behind me.

The streets were lighted with flickering gas lamps up and down the sidewalks. The building cast eerie shadows into the night, but the air was cool and fresh. Deciding to take the most direct route home, I slipped into one of the unlit streets.

A bad feeling settled in as soon as I was out of sight of the gas lamps. It wasn't long afterwards that I heard footsteps following behind me. They seemed sure of their prey – they weren't even bothering to disguise it.

Cursing my dress half way to the gates of hell, I sped up my walk, taking more turns in the alleyways than usual in an attempt to loose them. After the third turn, I realized what was happening. They were spread all over the alleyway. The footsteps behind me were not from the same men as those that started the initial tagging.

I was being flagged down.

And I just tripped on a brick, the whole commotion of falling made me lose my mental sense of where I was in the vast maze called the alleyways. I walked briskly, cursing that I didn't have my father's dagger on me. I only had a small one stuck in my boot that would do nothing against these men.

My head hit something hard, the force of my walk flung me back. Clutching my forehead, I looked at my roadblock: it was a wall.

I'd accidentally ran into one of the dead ends.

There was a laugh behind me. I swirled around to meet the eyes of six men. Leon was right: they were all muscles – the kind of bullies that he'd love to have on ships as the lowest of crewmen and frontline of fighters but would be sick all over the place. They had clubs in their hands. I swore. Clubs were always hard to loose. I had no hope of taking one of their weapons.

Pulling my dagger from my boot, I hid it behind my back, acting cool and innocent.

"Nice to meet you, gentlemen," I said. "Does our meeting truly need the use of weapons and clubs?"

One of them, the captain I suppose, sneered at me. "Of course, _Sweet_. Now, if you will stay quiet and complacent, I won't be using it." He winked. I shifted my feet under my dress just as the other five closed in…

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**hehe...please don't kill me for the cliffy. I've part of the next chapter written on my notebook already...so with luck, I'll be able to post it this weekend...most likely after the SATs on Saturday morning (bites nails and shudders). **

**Review! :D I love hearing what you think of this story so far. ;) **

**Cathy**


	7. It will appear

**A/N: I just finished the SAT about an hour ago (woot!!) and finished tying the loose ends of this chapter. Two notes, though: the song in this chapter is adapted from Cascada's "Bad Boy" (you can sing along to the tune, but the LYRICS are DIFFERENT) ;) ...I can't sing, so I guess I'll leave to your imagination how it sounds. There's a link in the profile that goes to a youtube video of the original song...so I guess you can tune out the lyrics or something... Second note: this chapter is kind of a crossover between the Edward-fighting-Victoria scene in Eclipse and the Edward-saving-Bella scene in Twilight. I didn't plan it this way...but I got really hooked onto Cascada's music two days ago and I was like "OMG! I have to alter my chapter to get something like that inside!" and yeah...that's what kinda sorta happened...hehe...enjoy! :D**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

I ducked just as the first club swung at my head, making a resounding clash against the brick wall behind me. Acting quickly, my leg shot out to trip the next one who came. His club hit the first on the head. He dropped the club, which I used to knock him off his feet. His eyes rolled in his head, and he was unconscious. _One down, four more to go…and the leader_.

My hands raised above my head to block the jarring blow of four clubs. Slipping out from under them, I ran onto the clubs as they simultaneously hit the ground in another bang. I swept my heavy club around, suddenly realizing that the club was way too clumsy. I was already tiring from both the strength needed to hold it as well as control it.

But before I could think, the club was taken from my hands, clattering to the ground as four men came at me again.

They were in a single file. I easily dodged the first swing, wrapping my hands around it to guide it over to meet the second. The blow seemed to jar the holder of the bat rather me; the clash between the bats echoed throughout the closed off alleyway.

When my eyes took in my surroundings again, I was draining of strength…and fast. But when I saw wooden boxes at the corner, I was struck by sudden inspiration: something so reckless that I would either be left with only one man to fight or die because of failure. I decided that I'd rather go through with that than die because I ran out of strength to fight on.

So I ran.

I ran with all my strength to the boxes, managing to climb to the top before they arrived. I had to choose one man who was strong enough to hit the others but weak enough that I could easily defeat him. The leader was not partaking in the party…he was just smirking and frowning, as if he didn't know what to think. The pile of boxes wobbled precariously, and I blindly made a choice hoping that bad luck didn't come my way.

I dove head first off the pile of boxes, somehow managed to do a brief handstand on one of their shoulders before flipping and seating myself on the shoulders of another. Clamping my legs around his neck, I tried to blind him: pulling on his ears, poking his eyes, yanking on his hair. His anguished and tortured cry made my ears ring, but I kept on. His hands stayed stubbornly on his club, but he dared not swinging it at his head for fear he'd hit himself in his hasty struggle. _Just what I wanted_. So he swung at anything and everything that came his way. The others tried to get me off, but as soon as they approached, he'd swing his bat at them.

The three circled their mate, unsure of exactly how to do it.

And that was when the leader cried out a strangling screech. Two men left stupidly to go see what was wrong, and fighting sounds broke out from the entrance of the alleyway. The one left didn't move, however. He was watching me, squinting and scrutinizing me and my tactics.

A few minutes later, the fighting on the other side stopped abruptly, as if the stranger was killed. Heavy footsteps came in this direction again. The light of the night making him seem only like a shadow. He seemed smaller, leaner than the men who went, but that may just be as much a trick of the light as the truth.

My heart pounded. My plan wasn't working as I thought it would. Leon was right: they were careful, experienced, but still brainless. The one on whom I was still seated on still clutched his club and swinging it wildly about. He never thought to use his hands rather than the club…never thought to get rid of me and then picking up his club again. But if this one came back, it'd be a two on one. Better than before, but still tricky, especially since my weapon was getting tired…

To my surprise, the newcomer leapt at the other guy standing. They rolled and tackled each other on the ground, when suddenly, they stopped. The man on the bottom flipped them and stood up. The moonlight caught a bloodied dagger in his hand.

"Can you get off of him?" he asked. His voice was soft and guarded, as if I was going to escape.

"Yes," I answered, deftly swinging off and tumbling away from the club that came my direction. My savior attacked again. This time, however, it was a real fight: parrying blows from that heavy club. Both were tiring from the exercise, but no one was gaining the upper hand.

I fingered my knife, knowing that if I miss, the knife would hit the stranger instead. They were circling each other, the one with the club aiming glances my way and the alley entrance, as if calculating whether he could escape with me in tow. And I threw my knife.

I heard it cut through the air, ringing. There was a strangled sound. The club hit the ground and the big man keeled over, dead.

"Nice throw," the stranger commented, walking to me. I backed away instinctively. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," I answered curtly.

"A thank you would suffice."

"I didn't want help." Leon always taught me to never expect help. Those who offer it willingly often want something in return – often, something more than you're willing to give.

He scuffed at my reply. "You knocked out one man…but how were you exactly going to knock out the five others?"

"Not as quickly as you did, but I'll manage," I answered, starting to walk away.

He jogged to keep up. "I'll escort you home."

"No you won't," I answered, turning to face him. His eyes widened in shock.

"You're a girl?" His eyes seemed to disbelieve what he saw.

"And you're a boy. I'm glad we got that worked out. Now go away," I cut in. I made to leave again, but he grabbed my wrist. I whirled around to face him, staring meaningfully at my wrist and glaring at him.

"And a very pretty one, too," he mused, as if he never heard my words. Rolling my eyes, I wrenched my hand from his and kept walking. "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"I'll take you there." He paused. "Actually, no. I'll take you to some food."

I stopped in my tracks, slowly turning around to glare at him. "I said I don't need your help!"

"And I say you do." I threw my hands up in defeat.

"Listen…because I'm only going to say it once." **(A/N: song tune from Cascada's "Bad Boy" lyrics adapted by me)**

_Remember this moment, remember this day,__  
I give you my thank you, but never again.__  
You never thought that a girl could be strong  
Now I'll show you how to fight on!_

I stared at him, singing. Walking backwards as he approached, a challenge in his eyes.

_I can punch a black eye, break your nose,__  
And make you hunch over and sweep your feet out__  
I can parry your fist, so understand  
That I don't need you in my life again._

I made to punch him, moving slow and deliberate so he had time to dodge. I didn't want to hurt him, but I still had to _show_ him. And when he made to fight back, I easily deflected it telling him again.

_I can wield a dagger, dodge your hits,  
And make you hunch over and make you keel  
I can parry your fist, so understand  
That I don't need you again.  
No, I don't need you again._

I shook my head at the last two lines, trying to wave him off. I turned around and began walking. He stood, stunned, but he caught up to me again, grasping my hand in order to make me face him. He fired back:

_I saw you in peril, surrounded by men.__  
I acted on instinct, you pushed me aside  
I just can't stand by to see you die out  
I promise to stay by your side_

I scoffed, not believing his promise. He learned the tune fast…his voice was like velvet, but still harsh, as if trying to make me believe him. Glaring at him, I wanted to retort back, but he silenced me with a finger.

_I will be your savior, be your prince__  
Be your nighttime stalker and will help you win  
I will be your savior, so understand  
That you will need me in your life again._

I hit his hand away from me, glaring at him. "Fine!" I said to him.

_You can be my savior, be my prince__  
Be my scary stalker, but DON'T help me fight__  
You can be my savior, but understand__  
That I DON'T need you again,  
No, I don't need you again._

"You're in denial," he said.

"And you've got your head stuck in the clouds," I retorted angrily.

"You remind me of this boy on my ship…he left once we docked, of course, and I never heard of him again. It's hard to believe that such a troublemaker could disappear without a trace," he said, laughing.

"And you're telling me this because…?"

"You remind me of him. Perhaps you know him?" he questioned. "His name is Key."

I stiffened. He just chuckled. "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you two were siblings."

"No, I don't know him," I answered, forcing myself to relax. We had walked onto the lighted streets. He was leading the way, dragging me unwillingly along to a nighttime café. "I said I don't need help."

"I'm not helping you," he countered, rolling his eyes. "This is so _I_ feel better." He forced me to sit in an empty booth, calling the waitress to order a glass of lemonade and some bread. I eyed him skeptically. He just shrugged, pointing to the food that somehow seemed to mysteriously land in front of me.

Curious but cautious, I took a nibble of bread. It was very good bread, with sweetened butter and cream. I smiled. The lemonade was sweet, too. "You're going to have to pay for this, you know?"

He shrugged again. "So…" he drawled out the word, making me nervous. "Are you going to tell me what made you go into the alleys? Gals like you avoid that place like fish avoid land."

"I would ask the same of you. You are no street tramp, and only the tramps wander there." His eyes danced.

"You're calling yourself a street tramp?"

"Not of their league, but of their kind." He snorted, pointing to the bread again.

"You eat." I distractedly nibbled on the sweet bread again, staring at him. His hair was messy, as if he _tried_ to straighten it but his hair thought otherwise. He had green eyes. They seemed so familiar, as if I had seen them often, but never at this angle. He coughed, making me jump. "If you're done fawning over me, I would explain." To my surprise, I flushed. It never did to be caught in the act. He just laughed at my expense.

"I don't often go wandering. My brothers took their wives on dates tonight, and I was left alone. My sister in law told me to take a stroll in the alleys if I ever became bored. I did become bored…and so I jogged in the alleys. It was very quiet and away from the lights so that the stars are out. That's when I heard the resounding bangs as if there was a fight or something…and you know the rest." He motioned to me. "You know mine, I get to know yours." I narrowed my eyes at him. He stared back. I gave in.

"I wanted to take the shortcut home. They followed me as soon as I entered the alleyways. In my attempts to loose them, I lost count of my turns and ended up in the dead end that you found me," I said, mentally scolding myself. He just nodded, but his eyes remained skeptical, as if there was more to the story. He didn't push for more information. Standing up, he paid the bill and let me lead the way.

We walked in silence. At first, I thought he was going to leave, but he followed me. "I said I don't need more help."

"My mother always said to help someone to the end. In my book, that means making sure you get home safely." I just snorted, but was too weary to argue.

We had walked into the alley where Leon lived – where I lived. With the noise we're making, Leon would be awake and at the door already.

"Are you sure you don't know Key?" he asked suddenly.

I stiffened again. "No."

"All the better," I heard him mutter under his breath.

"Why?" I asked as I turned to the door, opening it. The door creaked open. I chuckled when I heard Leon standing behind the door.

"Because…" He never got to say the answer. Stepping just out of reach and walking away from Leon, I heard a grunt and Leon's "ha!" as he tackled the man who followed me to the ground. "What the…!"

I turned around. Leon was atop my stalker, pinning him to the ground and glaring. "Some day, squirt, I swear I will get you."

"And I'll be waiting," I chirped, walking back to offer a hand to my stalker. He ignored it, standing up and brushing himself off. "I should've warned you," I smirked. "I'm sorry."

His eyes narrowed at me. "Not your fault," he said through his teeth. He turned to go, but Leon stopped him.

"No one follows her home and leaves so fast. Leave a name," Leon said, blocking the door way. The stranger just straightened.

"Edward Cullen," he answered, brushing past Leon and striding away. His colorful curses resounding until he disappeared into the next alley.

"Well…that fellow needs a dose of humor," Leon commented. I chortled.

"I know him. He doesn't recognize me."

"Is that a good thing or bad thing?"

"A good thing. I don't think he'll like it if he knew Key and Bella are one and the same," I answered, striding into the room I called my own, Leon's laugh following me.

That night was the first time I had a peaceful dream in countless years.

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**What do you think of it? No cliffy this time (yay!) but the next chapter is still in the ending stages of "precision planning" (as I call it). I'm going to have a busy week coming up...so hopefully by the coming weekend or the Monday/Tuesday after I'll be able to get it done and posted.**

**And this is the first time I ever tried to adapt lyrics of a song to my story...forgive the crude try (blushes)...  
Oh! and to clear somethings up in case it wasn't clear: Bella sings the first 3 stanzas to Edward; Edward sings the 4th and 5th stanza back to Bella; and Bella sings the last one  
**

**As always, your opinions are really valued :D please be kind a drop a review? XD**

**--Cathy  
**


	8. Atypical or A Typical?

**A/N: hehe... sorry for how late this is. I was seriously planning on getting it out yesterday but I was running late on finishing my character analysis of Alice in Alice in Wonderland for English class...so I was working on that instead. This chapter was kinda odd to write. I had all sorts of random things I know will happen, but stringing them together took the longest time ever :o. I have a feeling I probably over did some of the parts between Edward and Bella... forgive me on those. I'm planning on next chapter to be some sort of a fluff chapter... but I'll see how good I am at writing fluff suited for Bella's personality (thinks thoughtfully). **

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**Chapter 7**

The next morning, I was up bright and early, praying to avoid Leon for the rest of the day should he ask what had happened last night. Slipping on a loosely tucked blouse and a skirt, I sneaked my way to the door. Opening it and closing it, I sighed with relief as Leon didn't notice me. I looked up. _Or…maybe not_. There stood Leon with his hands on his hips staring at my behavior.

"I would guess that you don't want to talk about last night and why that man 'escorted' you home," he said.

"You don't miss many guesses," I replied.

He tapped his feet, obviously waiting for me to elaborate. Sighing, I answered his unspoken question. "On the way back, I met six of those bullies you told me about. Edward helped me defeat them."

His eyebrows rose. "And if he hadn't been there?"

I swore. Leon could be so picky about information. "If he hadn't been there, I'd probably have been dead and am now bleeding on the streets." I sighed. "Fine. He _saved_ me, happy?"

To my complete surprise, he chuckled. "Sometimes I worry if you're ever going to find yourself a husband." I stared at him.

"I'm not amused by that."

"Ha! If Charlie's here, he'd have been worried sick about your lack of relationships." He snorted at his own joke. _Men_.

"If you're done with your enjoyment, I've work to do."

"Be careful, Bells. I wouldn't know what to tell yer father if you somehow landed in heaven before me," he called. I waved.

--

The streets were sunny and busy, unlike the previous night. I fingered the hidden pocket in my skirt, cursing my clothes again. I'd personally rather wear 'Key's' clothing, but I knew Leon would disapprove. I only had one coin stashed away. _Looks like I'm going to take a trip to the gamble hut_.

There was only one way one can enter a gambling place with only one coin and leave with as many as one wants without the owners kicking one out for suspicious _cheating_ even when you didn't….and that was, to make it seem like one was loosing more than gaining. No one kicks out the losers…that'd mean bad business.

"What's a wench like you doing in a gambling alley?" sneered a man.

"Gambling. Is there something else to do here other than gamble?" The man snorted in reply. I only smiled. "I've only one coin, you see. If you can win it from me, you will never see me again." I flipped my coin. It was one of the rare golden ones. I knew it was wrong of me to just assume he wanted me gone, but I rarely miss my predictions.

"I'll bet your triple," he answered. I smirked, putting down my coin. And here he thought he could actually win and keep this place girl-free.

The cards were dealt and five minutes later, I laid down a royal flush. I reached to take his coins but he snatched it away. "I will add nine coins to my bet for another game," he said angrily. I just shrugged. The dealer shuffled and dealt the cards again. I had another flush. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Last game!" he sneered. I was cautious, however. Men like this never lost. I win this game I will be entitled to all he presented…as well as a fight.

True enough, when I laid down yet another flush and won again, he stood up over me menacingly. "This here's a cheater!"

"And this here can't accept the fact that he just lost three times to a lady," I snorted. I knew I was provoking him, but no one ever called me a cheater with impunity. I had intuition and that was that. I visibly saw his face swell, instinctively ducking as his fist flew at me. I remembered all those times I dodged Leon and learned those tricks. My foot shot out as I twisted around and before he even knew what happened, he was on the ground with my foot pressed tightly against his chest. "And you just lost again," I whispered to him softly.

The man growled low in his throat. With a wrench, he escaped from my foothold, leapt up and came at me with full charge. I shifted, getting ready to dodge when someone roughly pushed me away. I fell hard on the floor, watching as that 'someone' took my blow for me. He grunted at the impact, but his hand came down in a chopping motion on the other man's neck. The frenzied man slumped to the floor.

My savior came to me, pulling me up to my feet, as if unaware that I didn't need help. That was when I noticed his hair. _Oh God!_ He looked up at that moment. His eyes widened.

We stared at each other for a moment, both surprised. Our mouths opened and shut, unable to form the words. I broke out of it first. "It's you again!" I said, shocked. _Edward Cullen_. _Why does he seem to be stalking me?_

"Yes, it's me again," he replied, almost as if he wanted to be anywhere but here. "And I just saved you again. Shouldn't I have some sort of appreciation for my effort this time?"

I snorted. "If you didn't intervene, he might not be quite so unconscious… but rather be fleeing down the street. Now you'll have to explain to the police that you knocked a man out."

He scratched his head. "Right," he muttered impishly.

"Now, if I were you, I'd be getting myself out of here. Speaking of which, _I _should get myself out of here." Taking the money I had won and scooping it all into a makeshift bag, I turned my heel to go.

"Wait!"

"What?" I kept on walking, realizing that he was chasing after me.

"I'm going to follow you." I was at the entrance now. At his words, I stopped dead and turned around to glare at him.

"If this is another form of your chivalry, save it for another girl." He caught up to me now.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Seem to know what exactly I'm thinking." I snorted at that, turning to go again. He caught up with me easily. Curse my short height and the lack of ropes.

"I don't."

He sighed in frustration. "That's not what I meant!"

"I know," I said, smiling. As we left the small, cramped path that led to the gambling alley, the sun shone full force down on us. The streets were busy, filled with people. The tailors were getting the best of the business. Port festival was, after all, in only six days. The original purpose of the yearly festival was for the courtesans to loosen up their demeanor and actually feel the freedom to choose their own partners. As their class degraded to common prostitute levels, the festival became better known until everyone started participating. However, the legacy of the courtesans was left behind: everyone had to wear masks for the entire night. People were forbidden to tell their identities; couples who met for the first time during the dances rarely find each other again. _Anonymous fun_, the call it.

But even in the busy streets, I could spot the little buggers – troublemakers praying to play a joke. I always waved to them cheerily, even though they just frowned and left. Edward followed me, true to his words, never saying a word. He just raised an eyebrow at me whenever I waved to some 'nonexistent' person as if I was insane.

"I'm not hallucinating, you know?" I explained, surprising myself. I needn't have.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're telling me you aren't just waving to the air?"

I grabbed his hand, using his fingers to point to another street tramp. "_That_'s who I was waving to. They disappear when they realize I see them, you see. I moved his finger around, pointing to yet another head that quickly disappeared. "And that one had been following us ever since we left the gambling alley. I think he wants to hit me with a water balloon." I chuckled.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Know what people are thinking!"

"Didn't you just ask that question?" I raised my eyebrow. He was getting frustrated.

"And you didn't answer."

"It's called intuition. Heard that word before?" He glared in reply, looking over my shoulder instead of at me. The sun was shining directly at him. His bronze colored hair almost seemed to glow. I stepped away from him, as if unconsciously afraid of him. I owed him two 'lives' now, although the second technically didn't count, he still intervened on my behalf. I was in the middle of the street when he suddenly turned his head right.

That's when I heard it: the unmistakable screeching of wheels and horses that meant a horse cart was out of control. His eyes tensed, widening in obvious shock as he looked between me and the out-of-control-horse-cart. I knew I should run to the side of the street as soon as possible, but for once in my life, my dexterity failed me. I couldn't move, only to brace for the impact of the horse. Without even looking back, I knew it was coming straight at me and that it was already too late to run.

I closed my eyes, sending a silent prayer to the heavens that I'd die quickly. Seconds passed. It was as if time was playing tricks and made each second an hour.

And then I was airborne, encased in a cocoon of sudden warmth. Arms seemed to wrap around me, and my fall was cushioned by a body. There was a curse, and then a voice frantically talking to me. _Oh why does that voice sound so familiar!_

"Are you alright?" Hands pressed themselves against my forehead, my cheeks, sliding down my arms as if checking for bruises.

"You dare patting around me as if I'm a bruised apple, then I won't be alright," I groaned.

"Then, in that case, you'd better get off of me. I'm quite winded." The body beneath me shook, and I jumped up with a start. "Second time I saved you today. Don't I get some form of thank you this time?"

"You're the one that had to follow me around. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have been there at that time. I swear, you're my bad luck." He snorted at that.

"Very well," he admitted. "But I demand your name."

"Bella," I said, offering my hand to help him up. He took it, but he didn't help at all. "Fine!" I shouted at him, frustrated. "_Thank you_. Is that better?" He responded by leaping to his feet and began walking. I realized how big of a crowd I had attracted. My face burned in embarrassment. Bella of Port Sarijam _never_ needed saving before. _My reputation has been going down the drain ever since I got on the pirate ship_, I sighed.

"I could get used to you knowing what I think," he laughed. I stuck my foot out in front of him. He stumbled forward a few steps, barely managing to keep from falling flat on his face. "What was that for?" he glared.

"What was what for?" I asked innocently. "You should be more careful," I tsked. "People would think you're a hazard to the streets!" His eyes narrowed but he said nothing. Sighing at his stubbornness, I continued. "You'd think that after this many put-downs, you'd try to save your pride and leave me alone. Any normal person would."

"You'd think that after handing out so many insults without results, you'd be tired of it. Any _normal_ person would," he mocked. I glared at him.

"I'm not normal, then, am I?"

"Neither am I." I huffed at his reply. I sombered up quickly though, but I didn't know why.

"I'm sorry," I offered. He stumbled again.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Thanks for saving me," I repeated. He stood there, stunned. "What?"

"Do you have a mental illness? Hallucinations? Fevers?" He started to feel my forehead for a fever. I swatted him off.

"I was rude and now I thank you and you think I have schizophrenia?"

"Yes!" he answered, throwing his hands up dramatically. "You were arguing about your independence one moment and _thanking_ me the next? What else am I supposed to think?"

"You're impossible," I muttered. "But I still owe you my life twice over."

And with that, I left him standing, stunned, in the middle of the streets.

--

The next three days were surprisingly uneventful. Though Jessica and Angela tried to get me something 'fashionable' to wear, I was content in watching them fuss over pieces of cloth as long as they didn't bring said cloth anywhere near me.

The day of the Port Festival drew nearer and nearer. Often, I wandered aimlessly around the sprawling city, listening to gossip and old tales. One in particular caught my attention. The old women were saying that there was something not quite _alive_ living in the rotten empty cabins outside of town. Two people frequently visit it, and these two people were asking the same question: Was there anyone named _Swan_ in town.

Leon had warned me to never say my surname unless in a life-or-death situation that will save my life. And now there were people looking for that surname.

"Bells!" Angela hurried to me, giving me a great hug.

"Angela," I acknowledged.

"What brings you here?"

"There's some rumor that some people are trying to find a person named Swan. Do you know of that?" Angela chuckled.

"Someday, I shall teach you the proper way of showing patience." At my glare, she gulped, but continued. "They aren't sure if they're actually looking for a girl or boy…imagine that! They only know that he…or she… has a surname of Swan. Whoever these men are looking for, I think he or she will be in big trouble. Did you see those men? They are huge! Like elephants!"

I laughed at her antics. She was waving her arms about. "Oh! And they also say that they're looking for some sort of amulet. Blue in color; apparently heart-shaped, and that if we have any that fits the description, they will pay much for it. Can you believe it? _Fifteen thousand!_ If I was a jeweler, I'd be making lots and lots of copies to get all that money." She continued to ramble on, but I stopped listening. My thoughts went to my own amulet. Was that the one they were looking for? But what's so special about it?

Lost in my thoughts again, I barely had time to dodge a well-aimed pan at my forehead. Jessica was holding said pan and glaring at me. "Are you even listening to what we're saying?"

I smiled sheepishly. "No…but I did listen to that pan. It would've hurt."

Jess sighed. "Port festival is tomorrow. We're expecting you to be here by noon at latest to help us help you get ready. Do I make myself clear?" I nodded absentmindedly, only to dodge another pan attack. "I'm being serious, Bella!"

"Yes, yes! I heard!" I sighed. "I'll be here by noon, don't worry." I ran away, afraid that if I zone off in front of them again, I will have to dodge more than one pot. I chuckled. They've learned that they could rarely hit me with anything, which is why they've resorted to pots. It was heavy enough that the last time I slipped in my defenses, it gave me a headache for three weeks straight and taught me to beware of their promises. I'm glad they hadn't used the knives yet. Now, _that_ would be deadly.

* * *

**You guys have no idea how much reviews helped me :D I would say now that if I didn't get 2-3 reviews for each chapter, this story would've never gotten so far (Average of 30-some reviews per chapter! :D) **

**So...next chapter, I'm hoping to write about the port festival. That's gonna be my fluff base... I'll see how I can do it. I did have a lot of fun writing this chapter... but as I said before, I may have made Bella a little more insolent than I should've. (sigh) oh well. **

**Tell me what you think of this :D Here's my little disclaimer that I still have my last 7-page paper of the year to write (which I only have 1/2 pages). I'm hoping to finish the next chapter by next weekend (after the paper is due but just before finals start) but don't quote me on that... hehe ... I'm known to miss my estimates by up to 800 percent before (blushes -- it was one of those science labs where you guess what is the weight of something...I stink at those) ... lol **

**Much thanks -- Cathy**


	9. Sarijam Festival

**(A/N): Last week of school and I still have one more paper to write (bangs against a wall repeatedly) but with summer so close, I feel like I've a severe case of senioritis, or the condition where you know you have stuff to do, but you just don't want to do it (sigh). Well, here's my next chapter. There's a lot less fluff than I had originally intended...it's also a lot longer than I first thought, too. I guess I'll be doing an alternative chapter 8 sometime and post it as an outtake after the story or somewhere to show where I originally wanted this chapter to go...before the story led me elsewhere...hehe**

**Oh! and just to put a disclaimer or something... Edward himself won't actually know about Bella and Key being the same person until Key goes on his ship again ;).**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

The skies were very misty when I woke up the next morning. Not many people were stupid (or, in my case, intuitive) enough to wake up before the sun on the day of the festival. Those that were already up dared not step outside the door unless they desperately needed to. The women, no doubt, were almost waking up. Most spend between eight and ten hours braiding hair, putting on make-up, last-minute tailoring the dresses, and (if they didn't already) make themselves a beautiful mask.

No woman walked outside her house on festival day – women who did were arrested, by tradition, and spend their night in jail while the festival was around them. Dressed as Key, I slipped past the few people on the streets unnoticed towards the dock. For some reason, dawn at the docks was always more splendid on festival day than any other day in the year.

As I strutted through the tall iron gates separating the docking lanes from the loading dock, I took notice of how little activity were around me. Sarijam Port docks were famous for working sunup to sunup. Festival changes everything. The wind blew across the sea, washing onto the land. It flapped the lonely sails; the tall masts of various ships waving as the waves undulated. Beyond the ships, however, was the faintest light dotting the horizon.

I heard a sound. Without even thinking, my dagger was drawn, landing on the neck of someone.

"Damn, Key! I almost got you, too," the man said.

"Jacob?"

"Aye! Who else could sneak up on you without you noticing for so long?" He chuckled, using a finger to divert my dagger from his neck. I slipped it back into its scabbard.

"How goes it?"

"Everyone's preparing for the festival. I'm hoping to finish repairing this ship before I get ready, too." He paused. "What brings you here?"

"Sunrise." Already, the sun was beginning to show its light. Awed, I walked to the edge of the dock, my feet dangling above the gentle waves. He sat down beside me, watching the spectacle, too.

It was gorgeous. The sun was rising from the sea like a reviving fireball, its rays spreading defiantly over the waters, tainting everything in a bright, warm glow. The breeze increased, tugging at my bandana, threatening to pull my hair out of its confines.

"You know any ships setting sail tomorrow?" I asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Only one. It's the one I'm finishing the repairs on. _Twilight_, it's called," he answered. "Not may people want to set sail the day after the masquerade festival. They want to be wake up late in the afternoon."

"Wanderlust is getting to me. I stayed at port for too long, yet my friends will throttle me if I dared to miss the festival."

"_Twilight_'s the only one setting sail at just after dawn. Did you see the ship when it came in? It looked like it hadna seen a port repair shop for the past five years!" He looked at me thoughtfully. "Mikael's signed up for the crew, though. The man needs someone to keep his arrogance in line."

"You want to sign me up?" He nodded. After a wave, he jogged away back to his work.

Jacob was the only dock hand who knew me. His father was once the Second Mate on the ship Leon was First Mate on before Leon met my father. He was one of the first reasons Leon thought of Sarijam as home port. Jacob and I grew up together, but my frequent trips on trading ships made us rather good friends rather than something more. I suppose if I had stayed in port long enough, I could grow to like, or even love, Jacob, but that point in time was way past. I don't know what he thinks but I knew I could never like him more than a good friend.

And somehow, unwillingly, I thought of Edward Cullen. Unlike on the ship, he seemed to be a completely different man in front of me. Whereas he was cold and almost ruthless, he seemed to have developed a wacky sort of humor. He teased me… at least, he tried until it backfired on him. What bothered me the most was the fact hat he saved me. No one ever saved me. It was always me saving others in my clumsy ways. No one ever talked with me either, apart from Jacob and Leon.

In my thoughts, I almost didn't recognize someone approaching. "To whom do I owe this pleasure?" I asked, hand on the hilt of my dagger.

The new stranger snorted. "Not many can sneak up on you." I realized with a start that this was Alice Cullen. "I saw your friend sign you name on _Twilight_'s crewlist."

"Why a name change?"

I could almost hear her shrug. "Repairmen couldn't read the Eclipse part of it, apparently, so they painted over it until it was too late to get it back. It's just _Twilight_ now," she sighed. "I did tell you that you will come back, didn't I?"

"Only because my wanderlust's impeccable timing demands that I leave the day after festival and it's the only ship setting sail." That was when I realized something. Spinning around, I had a hard time masking my shock. In front of me was Alice. Only…she was dressed almost like I was – in trousers, boots, and a baggy shirt. She was dressed to hide the fact that she was a woman…just like me.

"I suppose I shall see you tomorrow morning. Don't stay too late in the festival celebrations!" With a wink that seemed to say _see you later_, she turned and glided away, her grace almost ephemeral.

I left the docks around noon, feeling a little sweaty and grimy. I was tempted into swinging across the mast cables after Alice left. My feet often made me fall, but my hands and the ropes were a different matter. It was so exhilarating to swing from one cable to the next, trusting that you had enough momentum to fly through the air twenty-some feet and that your hands would catch the next cable instead of missing it and falling to your death.

By the time I snuck to Angela's shop, it was past noon. Before I had time to register what was happening, desperate hands grabbed me into the homey little shop. Five minutes later, I was dressed in a chemise and dumped into a bath tub freezing cold water, with even more freezing water pouring over my head.

"Do I _have_ to submit to a cold water bath?" I groaned, knowing it was no use fighting them.

"Well, see, we kept the water warm for you until four hours ago. You didn't show up so we decided to let you suffer for coming so late," scolded Jessica. "Did you have _any_ idea how hard it is already to tame you enough so we could dress you up?"

I snorted. "I'm always docile, what are you talking about?" A cascade of water drowned out Angela's laughter and Jessica's answer.

The bath was fast, as I was shivering, and they were doing their best to go through things and supersonic speeds. Ten minutes after the cold bath dump, they tipped over the tub and I ended sprawling on the floor with my white chemise clinging frigidly to my skin. Draping a towel over me, they combed out the braid my hair was in without mercy before finally handing me a new set of underclothes to wear, sending me behind a screen to change.

As soon as I stepped out, however, they attacked me again. Practically tying me down to the chair, one was surreptitiously braiding my hair into tiny French braids before braiding the French braids into more braids; the other was painstakingly applying make-up on me despite my efforts to wince every time she dabbed more eyeliner on my eyelids.

"Bells, cooperate!" Angela scolded, threatening to hit me with her bottle of foundation. "Or you'll end up being covered in this 'white powder' that you so detest."

I felt myself pale at that and stopped struggling. Being covered in that white powder was not a good thing. White powders and me never go well in the same sentence, much less in the same space!

After what seemed to take millenniums, my two torture advocates finally declared themselves done. Pushing me to the nearest mirror, they grinned at me.

The mirror was floor length, but I had my doubts about the mirror. That girl in the mirror actually looks _feminine_ and I was not very feminine at all. The dress was in shades of blue, cut at just below the ankles (Angela, I believe, had the foresight that I would trip over the skirts if it were even just a hair longer). The corset and outer skirt was a dark navy blue, but the skirt parted to reveal a sky blue, glittering skirt underneath. The contrast made it seem as if I was the impersonation of twilight – with the dark coming in but the sun fighting defiantly against the loosing battle with the night.

My hair was also done elaborately. There were so many tiny braids, I was surprised that I had any single strands left over. But in reality, only half of my hair was braided. Half of that was braided into thin braids which were then braided again twice. The other half was left in thin braids and hid among my hair.

Make-up was not that bad, either. Despite what seemed like bottles of cosmetics Jessica put on me, there was only a faint hint of blush, the palest of foundation, and a barely-there trace of eyeliner that seemed to bring out my eyes in contrast to my natural paleness. I looked like a regal lady for the courting season rather than a trouble-making street tramp-ess dressed for an occasion.

"Stunned, much?" one of them, I was too distracted to tell which, said. "We told you that you could pass for about as pretty as you could want." I heard the pride in her voice, distracted as I was.

"That's not me," I whispered, pointing accusingly at the mirror.

Jessica came over and tugged on my arm. "Stop staring. Here's your mask and some accessories. Shoes are by the door. _You_ go out and have fun while _we_ are going to finish our preparations." She handed me a jingling box with a mask on top and pushed me out the door. No doubt they will not be ready until after sundown.

The mask itself was the most important element of port festival. The anonymity of all attendees was always preserved. It was taboo to show one's face or reveal one's name to anyone. I could stand beside Angela and not know that she was there – that was how secretive identities were kept.

My mask was in a color that was a mix between the different shades of blue on my dress. Beads decorated the eye holes and faintly dyed blue feathers fluttered at the fringes. It covered the top half of my face to my nose. Once with it on, even I couldn't believe that I remained unchanged beneath all the finery.

The festival was just starting up when I finally walked out. The sun was setting far away, but the streets were lit as brightly as possible. All street lamps will burn throughout the night; all musicians were to play through the night; and all people were expected to dance through the night. Looking at my shoes, which were a pair of blue slippers, I wondered how they were going to last with all the dancing they expect me to do.

When the sun finally disappeared completely below the horizon, the music started. Folk music was played on this street, ballroom on another. I flitted through the streets, keeping to whatever rare shadows there were. Too many people were in masks; too many men were looking at me as if they want to kidnap me to some forbidden place. And when I stumbled into the garden at the heart of Sarijam, I felt the greatest relief. Only couples stayed here – old couples, new couples, couples that would never see each other again after this night. Soothing ballroom music was playing somewhere near. In a small clearing, a few pairs were twirling.

Relaxed, I lowered myself on the ground, not caring to check whether there was mud or not. The streets made me feel claustrophobic. I never felt as many eyes on me as tonight. I leaned my head back so it rested on an oak tree behind me, half dozing…

I woke up with a start. It wasn't until I realized where I was that I realized what _woke_ me up. It was a feather-light kiss – a gentle brush of lips across mine. And there it was again. I stiffened.

"So the sleeping beauty awakes," murmured a soft, velvet-like voice. "I had a feeling this would get you up."

"You simply don't just kiss random girls awake," I said. As I became more awake, I realized how close this stranger was. I could smell the sweet scent and warmth that came off of him. And when he spoke, I felt the little puffs of air.

"I wanted to ask a dance. You wouldn't wake. What's a man to assume but that you're Princess Aurora and needs a kiss?" he replied softly. His breath was all around me, making me feel like I lost control of all my instincts and body. "And you didn't particularly prove me wrong."

"I suppose not," I answered.

"So…will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Dance with me." My eyes opened. All that time I felt like I was dreaming, only to realize that it wasn't…at least it didn't feel like a dream. The stranger was dressed all in black with a dark blue vest underneath the suit. His shoulders were wide, his frame large and powerful, and the cloth was stretched across him in such a way as to hint the wiry muscle beneath. I felt so weak in comparison. He had his hand stretched out, his eyes seemed unsure, scared even. Trembling slightly, I placed my hand in his. It felt so small in his.

And as if a new personality took over me – I was led by him, walking slowly to the cluster of dancers. He turned, catching my arm and waist. I tensed at the contact; he chuckled. "You don't get very close to people, do you?"

"I'm close to many people," I answered. Standing at this angle, feeling his warmth, I felt as if I knew this man from before. But I was too muddle-minded to think clearly for myself. What was happening? "I never danced, either."

"I find that hard to believe," he answered as he spun me around. I faintly recognized the music as a waltz. I stumbled as we danced, but he caught me smoothly, making it appear as if it was intentional. "Ah, I see." My cheeks flushed. I tried to follow his lead but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Finally, when I thought he was going to kill me for all my clumsiness, he twirled me around so that my back was flush against his. I felt his lips against my neck, and I tensed. "Shhh, relax, or you'll never be dancing."

I tried, but he was too close; and the sensations from what he was doing to my neck were too new. "Stay away from me," I breathed weakly. "It's not a festival of pleasures."

"But you can't deny this was originally made for courtesans to find their own partners instead of being assigned one," he answered softly, his breath on my neck making me shiver.

"I am not a courtesan."

"But you intrigue me."

"How so?"

"You speak too much," he answered, nipping my neck. I gasped.

"You just bit me!" I twisted out of his grip, narrowing my eyes at him. His eyes were green, smoldering, as if a predator finally sighting a worthy prey. Under my scrutiny, he smiled. The corners of his mouth slid up in a crooked grin beneath his mask.

"So I did," he said. "What are you going to do?"

_Violence is not the solution_, I chanted in my head, clenching and unclenching my fists in an attempt to calm myself. Spinning around, I walked away from him, my internal chant the only thing keeping me from knocking him to the ground. _Men_.

I heard his footsteps following behind me. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding sincere. I stopped dead. That was not expected.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I was being too assuming…" He spread his hands out as if to show that he meant no harm and that he really was sorry. "It's just… my sister forced me to go into the park. I hadn't really wanted to come at all, but she made me come here… and then I saw you and it's like I lost all the manners that my parents taught me…" I realized, with a grin, that he was rambling. I placed a finger on his lips, successfully silencing him. To my surprise, he placed a kiss on my finger, sending a chill down my spine. He was suddenly so close. My eyelids fluttered shut as I felt his arms slide around my waist and pull me to his chest. His lips flitted across my hair, nose, cheeks. I struggled to stay cool and reserved. "May I kiss you?" he murmured, his breath fanning over me. Intoxicated, I breathlessly nodded.

The next moment I felt his lips on mine. _Sweet Gods!_ It was like the world faded away and there was only us. He tasted faintly like the ripest berry. And it was my first true kiss… he stole my first kiss. I didn't know what to do. When he tried to deepen the kiss, I acted in the only way I knew how… He hissed in pain as he let go of me completely, cursing. There was one thing I knew he knew: my name.

"Edward Cullen?" I asked the moment I regained my good judgment.

"Bella," he acknowledged. "We are breaking a million rules by just saying that." I snorted.

"As if the police would really care if Bella broke another rule." He raised his eyebrow at that, but he didn't press me. "I should be mad at you." He waited for me to elaborate. "You saved me three times and now you stole kisses. My reputation's crumbling away."

"_Your_ reputation? What about _mine_?" I stared at him blankly. He sighed. "I saved you from a mob of brutes and you thank me by letting your father pin me to the _floor_. I saved you again from the runaway horse cart and you told me to leave you alone. Now I kiss you and you attack me. Do I get anything good for my heroic efforts?"

"If by that you mean I should lie still and let you do whatever you want with me, then no." I snapped. "Who do you think I am?"

"I meant – "

"Find someone else to save and fawn over you," I cut him off, flitting away, fingers crossing that I won't trip.

I didn't fall. He didn't follow me either.

I walked onto the streets, away from the park where I knew _he_ was there. I didn't know what it was about him that made me feel so small, so fragile. I was afraid of him, afraid of feeling that way. It didn't matter that I technically owe him my life thrice over, I instinctively shied away from him.

The music was of all sorts by this time. I neared a square dancing street, the lively beat and the laughter made me want a partner to share this night with. It wasn't as if I never attended these alone – I always did. But tonight, I felt especially lonely. Apparently, I made it clear in my demeanor. Footsteps approached me. I looked up. It was a man escorting a woman towards me. They were in matching clothing of violet and blue. The man's blue eyes looked as if they would pierce my soul.

"You look lonely tonight," he said. I recognized him almost immediately, much to my surprise. Jasper. And the one beside him must be Alice.

"I am not lonely," I protested.

"Aye? And no witty comments either." He turned to Alice. "She must be lonely." I raised my eyebrows.

"You know that Edward might kill you for coming onto the ship, yes?" inquired Alice. I froze. "Good evening, _Key_," she said, clasping my hands. "I see that your friends did a great job making you presentable."

"He would not know if you will not tell him," I replied tersely. Outside I may look cool and reserved, but I was trembling inside. They cannot spill my secret, or I would be stuck in port due to a four-day storm tomorrow night.

Jasper laughed. "I want you live for our duel. I am still quite sure I shall beat you yet."

"You can keep dreaming that. Maybe, one day, I shall loose to you while wielding a blunt wooden sword!" He chuckled as I left them, feeling much better. I was never one to crave for attention, but for some reason, this night, I felt much more alive than I had ever been when people came to talk to me.

I left the dancing shortly after midnight. The stars were out in the alleys. That was when I knew I was being followed. Everything seemed to be against me these days. I had been followed too many times for me to feel comfortable. Slipping into a niche in the wall, I drew the dagger that I painstakingly hid in my skirts. As the footsteps approached, I tensed, and sprang.

It was a boy, not older than my age. My dagger was at his throat, his back against the wall. "Why were you following me?"

"I-I'm n-n-not!" he protested, trying to wriggle away. He lied.

"Move more and my dagger will not show mercy," I hissed. He stilled immediately.

"Now, tell me, who told you to follow me?"

"T-this man in a dark suit. He's got r-red eyes and he t-told me to k-keep an e-eye on you and see w-where y-you lived."

I barely had time to roll away from a dart, but the boy hadn't. It struck him in the chest. My stomach churned at the smell of so much blood as he collapsed slowly on the pavement, his eyes rolling to the top of his head.

"You didn't have to kill him," I called out.

A cruel laughter echoed throughout the alleyways.

"Well met, Isabella _Swan_." I struggled to not wince at my surname. "You are one sharp lass," said a cold, stone voice. "That boy deserved to die. He was too loose-tongued."

Then, from the farthest corner, a pair of blood red eyes emerged. I clutched my dagger tightly to me, my mind working fast, for here was an unknown enemy, and I was just about to find out why I was stuck in so many sticky situations…

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**Several notes: in case you're wondering, Bella did NOT knee Edward when he kissed her. She has other ways of making him let go of her other than that... ;) -- like, sharp jerk to his hair (she's strong enough) or a stomp on his toes (she might not be in stilettos, but she still would know how to make it hurt)...I leave that to your imagination :D **

**And yeah...I did change the name of the ship (on a whim)... shh! pretend you didn't know that and think that I meant to do this all along ;) XD**

**Anyone can guess who the last attacker is? :D hehe **

**And as always, please drop a review? **

**-Cathy**


	10. Revelations

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't been updating for two weeks now. The week after I last updated, I had finals to study for. I go to a residential highschool, so I had to move all my junk from the dorms back to my room at home. The sorting of everything took two days, and I was utterly exhausted. I truly started this chapter about three-four days ago. I know I promised someone to have this out by Tuesday... but it seems I've misjudged the amount of time it takes me to smooth out the little bumps along the way. But here it is! Chapter 9! **

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**Chapter 9**

-Interlude-

The sly wench! Victoria sent some of the best fighters in the nearby towns to get her. Out of six, only one returned…with a severe concussion that rendered him completely unable to express himself clearly, rambling on and on about being hit in the head and seeing his companions all dead. **(a/n: to be nerdy for once – he has aphasia from the concussion :D)**

He had no remembrance of the fight…only a blurry image of his club being knocked from him. I didn't know what to make of it. It had to be the amulet – in trying to save itself, it also saved the girl. There was no other way a _girl_ could single-handedly defeat those men… I simply refuse to believe it.

I paced around the room. The more I learned about the girl, the more I was sure her last name was Swan. Bella Swan – Isabella Swan. The English were always on about having a name that rolled off the tongue… this one fits well.

I went to many lengths to discover her surname. I would not want to make a mistake and let the real one slip through. No, I've once made that mistake. It won't happen again. There was one old man who was particularly interested in why I was so keen in my questioning. The sense of _her_ was very strong around him, as if she was very close. I pressed on ruthlessly, first assuming that all my suspicions were wrong – that Bella was his daughter. When I threatened to kill her however, he buffed, saying that I could take her life, for she had no family left. His words rang with truth, even though he tried to act as if he was buffing so I could take his life instead.

It didn't work. There were times when I lost sight of my goal and cursed my half-existence. Half of me provided all the power I could ever want; the other half forced me to obey the physical laws of the living. I could not openly discharge the power. I had the potential to summon a fireball that could destroy the entire port, but I was limited to only emitting sparks from my fingers barely strong enough to start a fire. All because of that cursed amulet and those cursed wizards who made it!

In the end, I spared him. He couldn't die while he still had secrets that he kept.

It was then that I launched my campaign to meet the girl myself. I recruited as many of the street tramps as I could to track her, follow her wherever she went. They treated it like a game they always played on her. She never failed to point them out, either by flicking a pebble at their heads with unerring accuracy or somehow sneak up behind them to tap them on the shoulders. I had Victoria stalk her once. Bella was with a man; she had grabbed the man's hand and pointed where Victoria was hiding.

On the day of the festival, however, I lost her trail completely. Her guard seemed to be down when I finally found her, or perhaps I was too good. She wandered from the park, deep in thought. In the hubbub of the crowd, she never noticed that I had one boy follow her. I paid him well; he left a trail that I could follow, but in the end, she still caught him.

When I caught up to them, she had him pinned against the wall, questioning him. _He has to die_ was the first thought that came to my mind. Not even thinking about the fact that her body blocked his, I threw a dart at him, instilling a small amount of power to ensure accuracy. It could've killed the two of them had she not tumbled away. I heard the distinct moment when the boy died – that click of the gates as it opened and closed behind the newcomer. I turned back to look at her. She was staring straight at me even though I knew it was impossible to see me in the shadows.

"You didn't have to kill him," she said, her face devoid of emotions. Knowing I was caught, I grinned to myself and stepped out of the shadows.

"Well met, Isabella _Swan_," I said, chuckling. "You are one sharp lass." I looked at the boy's crumpled form. "That boy deserved to die. He was too loose-tongued." My eyes were trained on hers then. Not a flicker of surprise flashed through her eyes. Testing her, I sent out another dart. She deflected it as if it was a fly; the metal object clanged to the ground, ringing like a bell.

"Who are you?"

"If I told you, I would have spoiled the fun, wouldn't I?"

"Then I suppose you won't tell me why you are so keen to seek me either." I just smiled in reply.

"You see, Bella, I was very intrigued by you." Her eyebrow changed, but she remained otherwise still. "You had either consciously or unknowingly deflected all my plans to hurt you in any way." Here, I stopped, smiling widely at her. A slight tremor passed through her still form. "Tonight, you won't be so lucky." I laughed as she shifted her feet, attempting to prepare for the assault coming. She had no way to escape. Limited as my powers were, they could be channeled into a sharp weapon. I will not miss any of my swings at her…

-End interlude-

Cursing under my breath, I leaned heavily against a wall, trying to breathe as quietly as I could but failing miserably. My hand was on my arm where an open cut was still bleeding profusely. Clenching my teeth against the pain, I applied more pressure on it in order to staunch the bleeding. The smell was incredibly nauseating. Sweat rolled down my cheeks as I bit my lip to keep from fainting. I had to get away. I doubt a strong knock to the head would hold him back for long.

Stumbling along the alleyway, my mind flashed through the battle. No matter how carefully I parried and blocked, his sword always ended up at least scratching me, if not more. There were bruises and cuts all up and down my legs, although (for once) I was glad that the dress was voluminous enough to take the edge off the hits. Had I been in trousers, I doubted I'd still be in one piece at the moment.

He seemed so invincible. Though I knew better than show my surprise, I couldn't help feel despair when I made to slice his throat, only to feel no resistance against my blade when I cut through him. It was like he wasn't wholly there… as if he wasn't all very _alive_ – substantial. It was a true miracle that I had tripped over a garbage bin, somehow knocking something over that ended up dropping an enormous chunk of cemented bricks onto his head. He didn't bleed; rather, his eyes seemed to turn distant and he sank to the ground in a dead faint.

Curiosity had burned through me, but I turned away from temptation and ran as fast as my bruised and hurting body could allow.

Bursting into Leon's small house, I went completely still. Leon was huddled in the corner, mumbling incoherently to himself; the furniture and everything was in shambles, thrown haphazardly this way and that. At my entrance, he looked up. His eyes were bloodshot; dried blood clung to his matted hair. There were bruises all over his face – he looked no better than me.

"B-Bella?" he said in a bare, husky whisper. Stumbling, I went to the water well and brought him a cup of water, which he drank from greedily.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice barely rising from a whisper too.

"Squirt," he answered, a hint of a smile passing through his features. "Where's the amulet your father left you?" His demeanor suddenly changed from light hearted to serious, almost panicked. I dug the blue heart-shaped amulet from beneath my corset, showing it to him. To my surprise, it felt amazingly warm. He relaxed visibly as he stroked the small heart lovingly. "This amulet has a great story behind her, hun. I didn't want you to have to protect her, but you are the next bearer of her. Keep her safe with your life."

I was about to ask him why when he stopped me, continuing. "She is a locket and a Gate. There's a key-bearer out there in the world somewhere who has the key to open the locket and bring the both of you riches beyond imagination. But there are also people who seek her to destroy the Gate – a gate that keeps powerful beings from taking over the land in their clutches and from power-hungry men who seek to become those powerful beings."

His voice suddenly dropped; his pace quickening. "Most people never reach this last step – the opening of the Gate. Their power-lust makes them break the rules of the living and they are soon consumed and dead. Someone, however, _has_ reached this step despite the apparent impossibility of it and knows that the Swans are the latest bearers of the amulet. Keep your surname a deadly secret – that would be your first protection. And guard her with your life, for I could no longer do so."

Tears streamed from my eyes as I suddenly figured out what he was going to do. "You want me to escape as fast as I could while you stay here and lead them on false trails." It was not a question. He simply nodded.

"I had to give your father some sort of explanation and do as he would've done."

"And there's nothing I can do to convince you to escape with me." I struggled to keep my tears in and my voice even. I shook from the pain of my wounds and the realization that I was never going to see Leon again. He just shook his head, bringing me for a bruising hug.

And then he brusquely pushed me away. "Go! He will not be long in coming here."

As if driven by an unknown force, I sprang into my room, ripped my dress from my body, and donned on a shirt and trousers while working my bandana over my hair. With a last look at Leon and the house, I grabbed my satchel and ran for the docks, ignoring all the protests my body was giving me.

--

I woke up with a start, immediately drawing out my dagger. Through bleary eyes, I saw my surroundings. I was on a ship. The ship was on the sea. But which ship? I dug within my mind to search what had happened last night. I ran into a man who was not hurt by my dagger; Leon told me to leave port as fast as possible. I had run all the way to the docks, getting on the first ship that I could see in the departing docks. It was the _only_ ship tied up by the departing docks.

I tried to roll over, groaning when all my muscles protested. I still had bruises all over, but the various cuts were no longer bleeding. The wound on my arm throbbed as I made into a sitting position, leaning heavily on the crates beside me.

That was when I noticed what had woken me. Ten paces away stood Alice, her eyes wide and her mouth formed into an 'o' of shock. Grimacing slightly, I croaked, "Good morning." My voice was hoarse. The sound barely made its way to my own ears. However, she was started out of her state of shock, quickly kneeling down beside me.

"What had happened?"

"I got caught in a brawl. Don't worry about it," I replied. She wasn't convinced, as if she knew I was lying. I tensed as she approached, but she kept quiet. "What time is it?" I asked as she started to check my wounds.

"Dawn," she answered simply. "The ship left port twenty minutes ago. I should warn you that…" She didn't get to finish her sentence. At that moment, Jasper came up behind Alice, his eyes widening to see me in such a condition.

Behind him was the rest of the new crew.

_Oh god_.

Standing barely out of my line of sight was Mikael Newton – one of my mortal enemies. He claimed as much fame and credit as he could without actually doing; and whatever he actually _did_ do, he usually messed up so much that others had to clean up after him.

The dislike was mutual. No matter how great or heroic he claimed himself to be, he never succeeded in claiming any one of my deeds. It included, at least, the ability to disarm him in one swing. For that reason, he tried to take as much advantage over me as he could, always failing and humiliating himself in the worst sort of way.

He shifted slightly, bringing his eyes to meet mine. Dull, emotionless eyes suddenly sparked with fury. As if on fire, he drove himself in front of Jasper, clumsily drawing out his sword. Chest huffing in sudden anger, he yelled, "YOU!"

"Aye, me. Is there anything more intelligent your impeded mind could command you to say?"

He struggled for a comeback, his mouth opening and closing like that of a goldfish. I just smirked, lying still as Alice, who remained oblivious to the crowd, tried to bandage the cuts on my arms.

Mike turned away. "Stand up and fight me," he commanded. "I will not be called taking advantage of your weakness by slaying you as such."

"You? You want me to stand up and fight?" I snorted. "You're not worth it."

"You-"

"Me what? If that's all you can say, you're even dimmer than I first thought you to be." He made to charge at me then, but Jasper held him back.

"You can stop taunting him, Key," he said to me with a meaningful look.

"You can let him go, Jasper. He won't harm me," I answered. Jasper didn't move for a moment, struggling to hold the wiggling man in his grasp. I raised an eyebrow at him; he let go.

Mike fought with the air for a long moment before finally realizing that he was free. With a fierce grunt, he came charging at me.

"Wait!" shouted a voice. It was Alice. Until that moment, I had forgotten she was still checking my wounds. "You have a sword to bully a wounded lad without an inch of steel. Your _fame_ would not go well with that on your record."

That stopped him dead. Huffing, he turned his back to me as if in an attempt to block out temptation. "You choose any sort of weapon that is available, and then we fight."

I thanked Alice with my eyes, but motioned for her to move away. I had to do this in the simplest way, although I hadn't expected the fight to be so soon. "I shan't need an inch of steel to fight you," I said, my voice barely rising above my whisper.

That was when I saw him. Edward. He was standing on the balcony above the cabin, overlooking the entire deck. His startling green eyes were narrowed, his face emotionless as he watched the events that played out. But when he noticed that I saw him, his eyes showed such a tenderness that made my stomach churn. _It was as if he recognized me_…and yet that was as near impossible as one could get. _Alice was a different story_, I convinced myself.

A screeching war cry brought me out of my musings. Mikael was charging at me, his sword held as if he wanted to chop me in half. I easily tumbled away; it lodged itself deep in the crate I had leaned against. With a grunt, he pulled it out and charged again. Another roll, and his sword missed again. He was using as much strength as he could the entire time; I just rolled from side to side. I was so focused on his next move that I didn't realize we were tumbling onto the main deck until I actually found myself in the middle of a wide span of area. It was much harder to dodge hits in an empty area… in my current condition, nearly impossible.

Mike, however, was tiring. His arm movements were too wild, too sloppy. He seemed to realize that and changed tactics. Brandishing his sword again, he began to use wrist movements to control the weapon. He came at me with it, but his strength was not as it used to be.

I leaned back as the sword went for my neck; it swiped a bare inch above my nose. The cut on my arm throbbed at the exertion. I knew it must be bleeding again from the smell that suddenly saturated the air. Biting down on my tongue to distract me from the pain elsewhere, I watched Mike as he spun and performed a complicated series of moves before aiming. As if in slow motion, his image split into two before coming together again. I barely had time to lean to the side and catch his blade between my fingers. With a sharp wrench, I broke the six inches of the tip off; in the same move, my wrist twisted and the tip made a deep gash into _his_ arm.

His momentum was too great to stop. Wincing from the effort, I kicked him as his body pummeled towards me, the impact jarring my joints into sharp protests. His body, however, tumbled four feet away. A sharp crack signified that he must have broken some bone. I no longer cared which bone, or whether I've rendered him paralyzed. Black spots appeared in my vision even as I struggled to keep consciousness. Voices yelled out my name, but I could no longer recognize them.

And the world turned completely black.

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**So many things happened...I feel like I'm rushing the story along or something. We get to hear the tale of the amulet and its importance from Leon's perspective, and Bella gets hurt a little bit more than I originally planned... oops. I'm hoping that the next chapter will be out by next week... but I don't think I'm going to make any promises...since I've known to guess very wrongly when it comes to time.**

**Somehow, I think after all this, Bella's going to undergo some slight character changes... but not sure how it's going to turn out :D**

**And as always, please leave a review?**

**--Cathy**


	11. Dreams and Reality

**A/N: I think I had a lot to say while I was writing this chapter...but at this moment, I can't remember any of it... (sigh) oh well.**

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**Chapter 10**

I woke up to a very dark room, boarded up on all sides. The ship was wobbling…I had trouble standing up right. Everything seemed to be spinning even though there was nothing I could see. There was not even a window to tell time; not one speck of light. Tenderly, I raised my hand to my face. Even when it was touching my nose, I still couldn't see it.

I was not tied up. Wobbling, I leaned heavily against the nearest wall in an attempt to find the door. Walking endlessly around, I realized it was no use. I couldn't feel the seam of a door anywhere. Panic kicked in; I crumbled to a heap. Where was I? Why was I here? The floor seemed so warm…I was so cold. My entire body ached and throbbed, yet I couldn't exactly remember exactly why. I screamed and I thrashed around, all I ended up doing in the wobbly room was end up in a heap. I could not find the walls again to help me stand up.

When I finally stood up, the ship seemed to lurch and I ended up on my hands and knees again. The tales from my childhood kicked in…

"_Father!" I burst out of the manor, sprinting to the man coming up the drive. Charlie always came to visit me each spring when the governesses I had set me free to play and explore. They could never truly understand what it was about the sea that I loved. Why, I could even ride horses, if Mother would only let me. But no matter how I pleaded, she never openly gave me her permission. I ended up making friends with the stable boy, who took me out to a ride every now and then._

_But Father would always bring me on his ship and let me do big stuff. It took only two years to learn how NOT to fall when the ship is unsteady and how to make it seem like you're tied up in two seconds…at least, that's what I learned. Whether father really knew I learned how to do that was a different matter. He tied me to a chair or pole plenty of times to punish my misbehavior, but I always ended up getting free to play and coming back before someone checked up on me to make sure I was still there._

_I didn't see a stray branch on the walkway, and tripped over it. Charlie was smiling, but a worried expression replaced that smile when I fell. Grimacing when I pulled myself up, I brushed off my skirts and limped to him. He gave me a brief hug, laughing as he twirled me around… _

And I was back in that dark cell. Sweat trailed down the sides of my face. I didn't know what happened. I was cold; my head ached as if hammers were being struck on my skull from the inside. No true memory came back. _How did I end up here?_ I screamed, but no one came in. I was alone.

I bit my lip to keep from crying. I couldn't cry. Big girls never cried unless they wanted to be bullied…

_I was in the midst of another nightmare. The first life I ever took was that of a young boy, no bigger than me at the time. It was eight years ago, when I was only ten. Leon and I just moved permanently into Sarijam. He was the local ambassador from the street gangs to warn us the consequences of entering their domain._

_I had obstinately said no. I was young, and had just gotten off a ship where the captain treated me like a mere cabin boy instead of a watcher; it was _his_ fault that the ship was four weeks late in its delivery. If he had just listened to me when I told him he was going south into a storm instead of westward, we wouldn't have gotten 'lost' and had to do emergency on-board repairs of the ship. In the end he offered me the wheel, but only after a long bullying session from Leon and the rest of the crew. Apparently, the other men of the ship held me in higher esteem than I thought._

_Leon warned me to stop my sharp comebacks, but I couldn't…wouldn't. It was not until he threw a punch at me when I suddenly knew I had gone too far. He missed terribly, of course, but I hit him back. Leon tried to break the brawl up, but I had kept on it, eventually blocking Leon's attempts in addition to the boy's throws. His size was bigger – taller, and yet my dexterity made him twist his body into awkward positions not fit for a fight._

_I didn't want to kill him. As I dodged hits, I only aimed to make him immobile and let him go. He didn't think the same as me. It wasn't long before he drew his dagger. I had none. Mine was in Leon's possession – he knew to keep it far from me when I was in a bad mood. I could only parry and dodge while waiting for my chance. It came a little sooner than I thought. In one thrust, his dagger made to chop my head off. My right hand rose of its own accord to grab his wrist. With a quick duck and turn, I had guided his dagger to his own neck… with more force than I thought. His arm's momentum caused him to slice his throat. His shocked face stared at me as he crumpled to the floor in a heap._

_The face haunted my vision – grew until there was only that shocked expression and nothing else._

_And then it changed. Parts of the flesh ripped off as the face grinned. "You'll meet your end, too, Bella!" it shouted, the voice echoing with such force that it threw me back. The face loomed over me, the bony mouth open as if to swallow me. I screamed as his teeth loomed closer and closer… _

My eyes shot open, immediately closing against the blinding light from a hole in the opposite wall. As if in a daze, I wondered what I'd look like. My hair was matted to my scalp under the bandana. My hands hurt – I knew I must have skinned them in my earlier attempts to get out.

And the light suddenly faded.

My eyes opened of their own accord. A dark shadow was standing in the doorway. I whimpered, my voice long gone from my screaming.

"Key! Are you alright?" The shadow detached itself from the light. A solid being came over. I hissed when he grabbed my hand, but whimpered when cool hands pressed against my forehead. "You're burning up!"

"Edward?" I croaked. In some unknown, coherent recess of my mind, I recognized the voice, the touch. I distantly registered how weak I must look. Some warning blared in my mind, but I couldn't recognize it. "My name is Bella," I whispered. I didn't know why I said it. More warning bells blared in my mind, but I was too weary to ignore them.

The man – he hadn't responded yet – froze, his cool hands still on my forehead. "What did you just say?"

"Call me Bella," I repeated. My eyes were tearing up again. His dark shape seemed to split into two, three, more than three. He spoke, but his voice echoed endlessly in my head, adding to my existent headache. Dry sobs broke out of me – strangled sounds that signified how miserable I was. "My name is Bella." I whispered again. And then, his image was gone, replaced by more memories…

"_Who are you?" one of the crewmen sneered at me. "We dun accept lil girls like you here."_

"_My name is Bella. Bella Swan," I answered. I had a distinct feeling that I should be scared, but I giggled at his expression instead. His eyes bulged until they almost popped out and his lips were pulled over his teeth like an old toothless granny. "And I'm here whether you accept it or not."_

_His expression after that made me laugh even harder. He looked…_stoned_ – as if someone pulled a big bucket of ice-cold water over him and he didn't know whether he was cold from the ice or hot from the anger within. One side of his face twisted up into an awkward attempt of a smile; the other half was trying to narrow his eye at me and make me cry… at least, that's what my instincts told me he wanted to do. He was just being silly._

"_Have you a paralysis of your face? My old governess said that people who make expressions like yours need to see a doctor right a way in hopes that the loss of muscle control won't spread," I told him knowledgably, proud of myself. _

_Deep chuckles sounded behind me. I whirled around. "Papa!" I screamed, running to him. His arms were wide open as he scooped me up into his arms and twirled me around._

"_Well, hello Key," he laughed. "I see you're giving my crew quite a handful." He tried to be serious, but his grin and wink gave it all away._

"_They were being silly. Miss Sterba always said that silly men needed to be reprimanded." His eyes widened as he played along._

"_So I've not only brought my daughter and helper, but also a strict Miss Captain!" He laughed and turned toward his men. "This is my daughter, Bella - Key," he said, nodding to me and then to his men. "I do hope that she will find no more need to reprimand you." Some of the men laughed outright, but the man who I spoke to just glared at me. I stuck my tongue out and made a noise at him in return. Father set me down and pushed me in the general direction of the deck, telling me to play. _

_I ran for the door, but the atmosphere suddenly changed. It felt as if the previous cheery feeling suddenly morphed into something mean and evil. The faster I ran towards the door, the farther it seemed to move from me. I looked back to where my father was, but he was on the ship, waving goodbye as it struck a stone structure and everything disappeared…_

I sat up, panting, the sudden movement caused my head to pound. Cool hands pressed a cloth on my forehead while leaning me back. I groaned, jerking away.

"I wouldn't do that, Key," a very male voice said. My eyes shot open. The blurry shape of Edward loomed above me. I was in a cabin I had never been to before… bookshelves lined the walls, each self with a special ridge to keep the books secured against tumbling waves. From what I could see, I was on the only bed.

"Where am I?" I whispered.

"My room," the voice answered. I tilted my head, suddenly coming in contact with a pair of vibrant green eyes. He seemed to be kneeling by the bed, chin propped on his hands. And he was just staring at me unblinkingly.

Feeling better than I had before, I waved a hand in front of his eyes. He blinked, as if startled from his thoughts. "You know, if you need some object of inspiration for your great ideas, you should find something _inanimate_ to stare at."

He looked confused for a second, and then snorted. "Are you admitting that you're _unnerved_?" His eyebrows rose in amusement, but he could not hide the flush that spread across his cheeks_. _

"Yes," I answered, playing along.

He snorted again. "I don't believe it! The great Mr. _Key_ just admitted that he was scared!"

I shrugged, although the gesture felt quite awkward when lying in a bed. "For all you know, I may be a quivering mouse inside."

"And pigs might fly!"

I was silent for a moment, thinking it through. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, although I'm not sure I care for the association."

For the first time since I'd met him, he smiled – truly, genuinely smiled. The corners of his mouth pulled up in a crooked grin. His eyes sparkled with mischief. He leaned conspiratorially in, his lips inches from my ear. "You should take it as a compliment. They're pretty high up the intelligence scale." His breath fanned over my ear, I shivered involuntarily.

"Very well," I continued, cursing at the slight tremor in my voice. "Thank you for the compliment."

He laughed then. "I'm glad your fever broke to the point where you're coherent again." With that, he got up and made to leave. There was a nagging memory tugging just on the edge of consciousness… something I thought I should know.

"Wait!" I shouted. He stopped, his hand on the door handle. Slowly, he turned around, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at me. "Who brought me into this room?"

"Emmett. He had the strength to carry you without dropping you even when you thrashed about." He left before I could launch another question.

_Call me Bella_. Those three words echoed loudly in my mind. I remembered them vividly in my dream, but I also knew that my habit of sleep-talking may have spilled it.

The days that followed, I recovered fully from my abrupt illness. Two questions constantly plagued my mind. _Does Emmett know?_ And, more importantly, _what will he do if he does?_

--

As soon as I regained the use of my feet, I slipped away from Edward's room. It was dark at night, the sounds of the ocean traveled lazily in tune with the gentle swaying of the waves. Edward was asleep, as he often was, on the hammock hung in a corner. Every night that the nightmares rolled, I'd wake myself, finding him staring at me with that peculiar expression – eyebrows furrowed in concentration, eyes sparkling with an unknown emotion. Whenever I asked, he seemed to jump, as if startled from a daze, and turn away from me. Several times, when the light hadn't burned out, I caught him flushing, though I could not figure out why.

The next few days I kept myself aloof from everyone, even far away from the crow's nest. I stayed among the ropes, swinging from side to side. Sometimes I stopped and dropped behind unsuspecting crew members, usually earning myself a muttered curse. Other times, I just hung motionless on a cable, feeling tempted by the breeze to loosen my hair. Throughout all that time, I was looking for one person in particular – Emmett. He avoided me.

The days passed without a sight of him. It got to the point where I paid him a visit one morning.

I nearly slammed his door open, inwardly wincing at the ruckus it made.

"It's not every day I see the First Mate scrambling for cover as soon as I enter," I remarked casually when I saw Emmett at the far corner. He coughed, his eyes quickly shuttering out a startled look.

"Does that mean I have permission from _Your Highness_ to call you _Bella?_" he asked, standing straight and making a beeline towards me. I only narrowed my eyes in reply.

"If you chose blackmail, why all the trouble taken in avoiding me?" I ignored his question.

"You will not tell me outright why you chose to board the ship," he stated simply.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Smart thought. I'd never guess you had it in you."

The next second, his sword was on my neck, blocked by the hilt of mine. I took one look at the sword and then at him, smirking. "Quick, but not quick enough." I winked. "Other tricks to make me impressed?"

I saw his other hand reach for his belt, suddenly coming up empty. "You took my…" he trailed off as his sword clattered to the ground. His eyes traveled up. "…whip," he finished softly. In my hand I held the cat-o'-nine-tails. Each gentle flick of my wrist, the whip made a sharp crack against the ground.

"Aye. So I have your weapon, you have my secret. What does that tell us?"

"That I shouldn't underestimate you."

I grinned. "Wonderful!" I dropped the whip to the ground, turning for the door.

"Would you actually whip me had I not agreed?" he asked as I opened the door.

"Would you tell Edward my secret had I not come here to ensure that it's kept?" With that, I opened the door and let it shut behind me, feeling as if a sudden weight had suddenly left me.

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**Many of you wrote in your reviews that you are quite anxious about my "slight character changes" for Bella. She's going to be her witty self (I hope) but might turn a little more reserved.**

**And... I'm a little evil for this chapter. We don't know for sure whether Edward heard Bella when she was "out of it". We don't really even know he was there at all - he might be pretending or he might actually be clueless ;) I still haven't found the perfect time for the truth be revealed, but it's coming soon! :D**

**A penny for your thoughts? hehe**

**--Cathy**


	12. Of Wit and Pain

**A/N: Heya everyone! I've had a really exciting week. I'm invited to go to an informational technology (IT) youth camp/convention in Korea at the end of July, one of the 20 (I think) international students going :D. I'm really anxious for that... so updates might get a little bit irregular (though the trip is all expenses-paid, there's still so much to do right now in preparation for it :bangs head against wall: ). I will try my best to keep my one-update-a-week schedule, but forgive me if I turn out to be a few days or so late. hehe. I almost feel as if I'm keeping a running diary in the first authors note of each chapter... oops... lol Anyways... enjoy!**

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**Chapter 11**

The ocean breeze came from the south – warm and very humid. I was very tempted to set free my hair and feel the wind tug at it. The rope swung gently as I stared into the horizon far away. Turning sharply, I leaped to the next cable, letting my hands slide down its length before painstakingly climbing up again. I was higher than the crow's nest, with only my hands and a piece of rope ensuring that I not fall to my death. My heart pounded in my ears at the sheer height and exhilaration.

"Key!" a voice floated up to me. I looked down. It was Emmett, Edward, and Alice. I sighed, quickly slipping down the ropes until I reached the end. Instead of hopping off, I wrapped my legs around it and let go of the rope so that I was dangling upside-down.

"Good day," I called, feeling the slight wave of dizziness as too much blood flowed to my head.

"Why did you come back?" Edward asked without preamble. I blinked at the suddenness of it.

"Isn't it a bit too late to ask? It's been more than two weeks since the ship set sail."

"And yet, I'm still the captain," he answered acidly.

I spread my hands out. "It's not quite my fault that you chose a day to set sail when no one else did. I just wanted to get away from port."

"You didn't seem so desperate to get away when we first landed."

"Aye, and you'd be the same if you've been away from home for nine weeks."

He chose to ignore my comment. "So desperate, are you, that you'd choose to come back to the one ship you've sworn not to set foot on?"

I shook a finger at him. "_You_ said that, not me."

He scoffed, finding himself suddenly at a loss of words. "Bring your feet below your head. I'm trying to be serious, and that is hard when I'm talking to someone hanging like a drunken parrot." I didn't move, just stared at him with the widest eyes I could manage. "And keep that mouth of yours shut for your own good."

"I wasn't going to say anything," I remarked.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" He raised his eyebrow.

"I was only going to say thank you. Apparently, you find my chatter amusing enough to compare me to a parrot." I stopped, pondering for a second. "And that drunken parrots don't hang upside down by my reckoning." I paused again. He opened his mouth to speak again, but I cut him off. "And that I'd talk a _lot_ less if you'd stop insulting me."

"Oh, you're _most_ welcome for the compliment, although I don't see what's so _insulting_ about a compliment," he said sarcastically, waving his arms around in wide, mocking gestures. He bowed – the kind that the actors in a play often do to be funny. "And I am _most_ grievous for disturbing your highly sensitive nerves. Is there anything else I should be careful of, _Your Ladyship_?"

"Just one thing: you need a tutor for your sarcasm."

His eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth about to say something when Alice – I had almost forgotten about her – whacked Edward on the head. "Will you two stop it already? You sound like an old married couple!"

_Thump_.

My legs had freed themselves from the rope and I landed on my bottom. Hard.

My eyes met his; my outraged and confused expression matching his. I made to stand, when Emmett butted in. "Too bad Key ain't a girl. I'd force Edward on one knee right now!"

_Thump_.

My hands gave away, and I landed in a heap again, inwardly wincing. I glared at Alice and Emmett, who shared looks of utmost amusement. Edward's eyes had suddenly become unreadable. Without a word, he held out a hand. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand was in his, and he was pulling me to my feet.

He didn't let go when I was standing though. His eyes burned with a mystical green fire that made me suddenly self-conscious; suddenly aware that our hands were still held together and that my hand was tingling as if a current was passing through it. I jerked my hand away. He blinked; the fire suddenly gone from his eyes.

Awkwardly, he cleared his throat. "You're under an order contract with me, Key. You'll have to do exactly as I say."

I saluted him. "Aye, capt'n."

"So if I tell you to fight…?"

"I'd fight, Captain."

"If I tell you to jump?"

"I'd hop, Captain." His eyes narrowed at the reply, but he continued.

"If I tell you to kill?"

I smiled. "I'd hand you a noose, Captain." Emmett burst out in laughter; Edward didn't seem as amused.

"You'd betray me?"

"Only if you'd consider yourself but an order. I do not as you bid me, I betray the _order_-contract." When he didn't reply, I waved before hopping onto the boom and leaped for the closest cable to climb up.

--

The night was dark and quiet. Unlike on land where the crickets chirped endlessly and the occasional hooting of an owl broke the droning, the ocean seemed to host nothing but water. Gentle waves lapped against the sides of the ship.

I knew I was supposed to sleep below decks in the bunked beds of the crowded rooms. Yet the smell there repulsed me. It was as if someone dumped immeasurable amounts of food there years ago and never cleaned up since. I managed to salvage a decent, dry blanket. Tying a rope on the balcony rails in a corner, I was suddenly glad I had somehow learned to balance my body while lying down on a suspended rope in any weather.

The slow undulating movements of the ship lulled me gently to sleep.

_It was still dark when a gentle breeze suddenly strengthened and pulled off my bandana. As if it grew deft fingers, the wind picked at my braided hair until it came loose, hanging past my shoulders. My eyes shot open; my fingers shot to my hair, trying in vain to braid it again. I managed a messy pony tail that seemed to disintegrate at another gust of wind._

_There were sounds around me. I whirled about, one hand trying to keep the hair from my eyes, the other gripped on the hilt of my sword. There was a fog. Despite the wind, the fog only intensified until I seemed to be surrounded by a white, pliant wall._

_And out of the wall walked Edward Cullen._

_My breathing hitched. His shirt was unbuttoned, his breeches only reached to his knees. For the first time since I've seen him, he looked haggard. His hair stuck up all over the place, as if he had just tumbled out of bed._

"_Bella?" he murmured, his voice unsure. I didn't respond, only nodding. "Why are you on my ship?"_

"_To escape…" I answered, careful to keep my eyes away from his. They were smoldering, that I knew for sure._

"_From what?"_

"_Bunnies," I said sarcastically, ruining the atmosphere. He laughed._

"_You've fear of rabbits?"_

"_Yes." I rolled my eyes at that, looking out to the sea. He stepped closer. With one hand, he tilted my chin so that I stared directly into his eyes. He was so close now that his breath fanned over my face as he spoke. I stayed silent; he did not speak either. And then, almost naturally, he leaned in, his eyes lingering on my lips, as if cautioning me that he wanted to kiss me…_

It seemed as if my eyes only closed for a moment before they shot open of their own accord. I tried to turn over, forgetting that I was sleeping on a rope, and ended up sprawled on the floor. There was a faint breathless chuckle – a whisper of the wind. My face tingled from my dream.

"I see you're up," a masculine voice said. I heard an ill-disguised chuckle.

"What are you talking about? Up? No, I'm _down_, you hear? Down." I could almost hear the confusion written on his face at the reply. He was about to say something, but I cut him off. "See? The ground ain't bad. You can't fall lower from it anyways." Squinting, I slowly dragged myself into a standing position. The man stayed quiet at that.

I was tired, my eyes barely stayed open; and when it did, they closed before I focused on anything. It felt like one of those dreams where you knew someone's beside you, but your eyelids were way too heavy to open up. It was as Father once said: "The unknown is not bliss, but man's greatest fear." I tried to force my eyes to open long enough. Instead, they shut themselves, begging for me to return to sleep.

I couldn't.

I could feel someone watching me. I couldn't see, but I could hear a whisper of cloths whenever I swung my dagger in exaggerated swings.

And then I did something I never dared, nor had needed, to do before. I gave my senses over to my ears, nose, and all the hairs on my exposed skin. I picked up the creaking of an old bed under the balcony, the faint whispers of the water lapping gently against the hull, the snoring of the crewmen below decks, and something else. I didn't recognize it at first; it was a gentle rushing of air.

It was someone breathing.

"Who are you?" I said softly. I leaned heavily on my drawn dagger. Without my sight, I felt suddenly disoriented, as if I had lost some important source of information and was crippled without it.

"It's not every day I get to see you unable to open your eyes. Go on, I'm quite enjoying the show." The voice was fake – he spoke in an abnormally high pitch with an awkward accent that somehow successfully disguised his real one. But he spoke, that was what I needed.

Preparing myself for some serious humiliation, I twirled my dagger using my wrist before taking aim. _Clack, clack, clack_. Three blows all successfully parried. I tried to open my eyes again. No dice; they stayed obstinately closed.

"Listen, if you've nothing better to do than stay here and be a stalker, you can stay here. _I_'m going back to sleep." I felt for my rope, knowing I didn't wander too far from it. As it turned out, I almost tripped over it.

As soon as I touched it, however, the rope swung away from me. I cursed as I stumbled – I was putting my weight against it. He had the nerve to chuckle.

"You can bug someone else among your crew, Edward, and not me," I hissed. The rope stopped running away from me.

"How did you know it was me?"

"The others do not dare to bug me so," I answered, straddling the rope and lying down. When I found my balance, I let my feet off the ground and onto the rope.

He chuckled. I opened one bleary eye at him. The non-cooperative eye shut itself the moment it opened. "You know that I could've given you a hammock had you needed one, yes?"

_Thump_. I fell from my rope bed. "_Now_ you tell me?" He was very close to me then. I could feel the heat rippling off his skin. He smelled of the sea at the best of times, but also something unbearably sweet – like a favorite flavor of candy or jam. "Stay away from me," I breathed. There was a chuckle…and I was lost to the world once again.

I woke up again not five minutes later to the rhythmic stroke of someone soothing my eyebrows. Smooth fingers trailed over my eyes, cheeks, nose – a butterfly caress that made me instinctively lean into the hand, sighing at the feel. Still muddled by sleep, I turned my head and pressed a light kiss onto the palm. The hand shook; a faint hiss brought me out of my daze. This time, though, my eyes opened.

It was Edward. He hadn't left me alone. And as I stared into his eyes, I knew that he knew my secret. He _knew_, and there was nothing I could do about it. "Bella." The name floated on the cool breeze, as if spoken in a prayer. My entire body tingled, a strong déjà vu coming to greet me as he leaned closer and closer.

The next thing I knew his lips were pressed against mine. My eyes fluttered close as he wrapped his hands around me, pulling me impossibly closer. And when he pulled away to take a breath, my mind finally caught up with what was happening. Instincts kicked in. The next second, he yelped, breaking abruptly away from me. In my right hand was a bloodied dagger.

As if in a daze, I crept away from him. His eyes were wide with shock, as if he hadn't had time to register that I had just made a very deep cut on his arm. By the looks of it, he'd be needing stitches very soon.

"You… you really will kill me?"

"You moved. I was just going to give you a cut to warn you, not a cut to give you stitches," I whispered.

That was when he looked down at his arm. Blood was seeping through his sleeve, creating a red halo around flesh that was bleeding profusely. I tore off the hem from my blouse, wrapping it around his arm, tying it tight. All the while he was eyeing me; neither grimacing nor showing any signs of emotions. When I was done, I looked up at him. He was very close again, his eyes displaying the great internal battle he was going through. Hesitantly, his unharmed arm rose, first lingering on my cheek and then traveling to my bandana. In one quick movement, the bandana was gone. All of my hair tumbled loose, like a waterfall breaking past a dam.

I looked into those startling green eyes. They were deep pools of emerald that seemed to be too innocent of emotions – as if he either still hadn't realized the pain from the wound, or was hiding it well. He looked right back at me, as if piercing my soul.

And that was how the dawn (and the rest of the crew) found us.

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**I guess I should explain a little of why Bella couldn't open her eyes. Have you ever had a time when you just woke up from a dream or something (naturally, of course) where you feel as if you could still sleep a week away (there's plenty of times when that happens to me)? From personal experience, I know that there's sometimes (especially in the middle of the night) where you want to open your eyes, but they feel heavier than boulders and won't stay open unless you actually force them open with your fingers or something (I've had plenty of times when I woke up my parents because I couldn't open my eyes and ran into a door/wall... lol). **

**Someone asked me to write this chapter (where Edward's knowledge of the secret is revealed) in Edward's point of view. I am currently working on that as an outtake that will be posted in the ebtwisty9 website whenever I get the time/patience to sit down and tell Bella to go find a hole to crawl in while I pick on Edward ;). I will give an advertisement in the chapter beginning authors notes when I finally get that done :) .**

**Next chapter, I guess we get to see what happens with Bella and Edward, now that they've had their sweet moments and their not-so-sweet moments :D hehe**

**Cathy**


	13. Hidden Truths

**A/N: The past two weeks have been hectic... there were visa issues, I had to go work as a summer orientation guide for my school, I got my nose stuck in several good books (which wasn't a particularly good idea because my mom got angry at me for forgetting to wash the dishes every night)... and I started experimenting with web design with javascript a little bit more. I had fun writing this chapter, though :D  
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**Chapter 12**

"Why is it every time that I try to be romantic, I get hurt because of it?" groaned Edward. It took fifteen minutes of grunts and moans for the crew to help me move him into his cabin. He plopped onto a hard, wooden chair, wincing when it jarred his arm.

"You always choose the wrong partner to be romantic to," I answered, untying the makeshift bandage I had made. The bleeding had stopped, but it was still going to need stitches. He grunted in reply.

As if on cue, Alice burst through the door (although the feat seemed quite impossible, given the number of men who were crowded in the doorway, afraid to come in but too curious to go away). Wordlessly, she took in my appearance without any indication of shock or surprise, and calmly handed me a box. There were dozens of curved needles and several spools of thin white thread. I whispered a thank you to her, but she winked and left before I could ask her whether she wanted to do the honors.

Edward was watching me wearily, as if he didn't quite trust me to not hurt him more. "Are you sure you know how to do this?" His eyes traveled to the thin needle I was threading and then at me. "You don't seem like you would do this very often."

"You don't seem like a romantic either, and yet you did a pretty good job."

He snorted. "And look where it landed me."

"Some trust, please." I held out his tense arm. It was stiff as an icicle; and when the needle first jabbed into his skin, he yelped. His arm twitched, but the needle somehow got to where it needed to. "Perhaps there's other things you can try your hand at."

He relaxed slightly, his arm still stiff as an icicle. "Like what? Oh, I might try to write poetry or write a song. Maybe the librarian would have a nice-looking daughter to woo." He hissed as I made another stitch. I didn't answer, concentrating on stitching up the flesh even though his arm was shaking so badly. He yelped or hissed every time the needle pierced his flesh. At last, I tied up the ends of the thread and cut away the extra.

"That is self-pity, and there's only one way to deal with it." His eyes were wide.

"What?"

"This." I jabbed the needle into his arm again.

"Ow!" he called out, his other hand swatting mine away to cradle the little pinhole now on his forearm. "What was that for?"

I shrugged. "You were being _pathetic_. At least now you're just cross, which is an improvement." Without giving him a chance for a rebuttal, I took the box of needles and thread and left the room. As I walked past the gathering crew, I called out for someone to bring hot water and some wash cloth. "There's a very upset 'lady' in there that'll need it."

"Praise the Lord, Key, I am _not_ going into labor!" shouted a very indignant Edward.

I whirled around at the doorway. "For all I know, you're acting like one, so you must be one."

I heard some unintelligible mutterings, but I paid them no heed as I slipped down the trapdoor that led below-decks.

--

The next week was particularly lonely. I guess it took everyone longer than it should to accept the fact that there was a girl on the ship and no one could do anything about it. I stayed out of everyone's way, preferring to let them settle their shock rather than provoke it more. I took the night watch shifts and swung about the cables at the top of the ship rather than coming down. Everyone looked like tiny specks from way up here. They never saw me much at all unless I decided to be daring and slid down the cables upside down, stopping only when my head was mere inches from the deck.

Despite my efforts, the girls always found me. Alice had a way of provoking me to come out of hiding no matter how hard I tried. And whenever Alice found me, Rosalie seemed to pop out of nowhere. I would have gladly taken food from the larder in the dead of the night, but they always proved the attempts to be fruitless. It was as if they could predict exactly which pantry or barrel I decide to attack. A live hermit crab here, some stinging seaweed there… sometimes invent a giant metal chain pile placed discreetly by the door intent on stubbing my feet. No matter how careful I was, I fell into their trap and ended up with a sore finger or toe.

That lasted for two days. I gave up escaping their attempts to make me dinner. Each time, the conversation started out the same.

"Bella, you can't hide from the crew forever."

"They need their time and I need mine," I snapped. Stupid Edward. Why did he have to know? Why couldn't he have just kept the information to himself?

Nevertheless, it was because of Alice that I first came in contact with the men of the ship again…namely, Emmett.

The encounter shouldn't have occurred at all if I wasn't so wrapped up in my thoughts. I had known that Alice and Emmett were arguing again after a 'training session' on the decks with several deck hands. Alice was holding her sword with the blade flat against her back and its tip poking above her sword-side shoulder. Emmett was in the default 'wrestling' position – his feet spread apart and slightly bent at the knees, his hands balled into fists pinching his waist. Apparently, Emmett was boasting how Alice was unable to clout his head because of her lack of height, and Alice was insulting Emmett, attempting to deflate his head a little.

That much I could tell from my perch on the mast poles. Most of the deck had cleared in the scene of the verbal arguments except for a few deck swabbers discreetly listening for the outcome.

As was I.

So focused was I on their argument that I almost missed someone calling my name.

"Bella! Oh, Bellllaaaa!" It was Alice. As if in a dream, I tugged on a rope and was beside her before I knew what I had done. But Alice seemed to know what I had wanted to do. She glared at me, clenching her fingers around my wrist until I was sure I had a bruise there. "Tell this oaf that they can't hit his head because it's so small, it's impossible to aim at," she humphed. I repeated this to Emmett, watching as his face flushed red in a mix of anger and embarrassment – anger from what Alice said and embarrassment from the inability to retort.

Smiling, I spoke again. "Now, there's two ways to deflect the damage. One is claiming that a small head suffers no injury so you'd be alive. The other is…" Not chancing Alice to hear, I whispered in his ear. When I was done, he was grinning widely. Alice looked suddenly anxious.

Winking at me, he boomed, "At least they've got something to aim for when they tried to hit me in the groin!"

Alice blanched, flushed, paled, and reddened, her face showing so many fleeting emotions that it was hard to recognize one before it was replaced by another. One fact was clear: she had no idea how to reply other than a weak, "I think I'll tell Rose you consider yourself incompetent" before running away at a sprint.

That left only Emmett and I on the deck.

"Thanks," he said, his voice rising at the end to make it sound more like a question. I raised my eyebrow as he squirmed, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "The whole ship knows that you're a girl," he blurted.

"I haven't noticed," I answered sarcastically. Trying to save him from further embarrassment, I waved to him and ran away as fast as I could. I caught a rope that sent me to a mast pole. There, I sat behind the flapping sails, hiding me from view. I had spoken to a man. Sure, he was not one of those other ship hands who believed males will always be superior over females, but the idea was the same.

The wind shifted directions. The hair on the nape of my neck stood up. The storm I had sought to avoid in port had seemed to have followed me. It will strike in full force within three days.

That night, however, Alice kept sneaking glances at me. It was as if I grew two horns out of my head and looked like a cat. Dinner was quiet as usual. I ate after all the men were out of the kitchen, with only Alice and Rosalie for company. There were mushrooms in the food – my favorite

"Edward's knife wound didn't heal," Alice declared after I took my first bite of the dried mushroom and potato soup. My head snapped up.

"What?"

"No one changed his bandages after you did them… and now it's gotten infected."

"Why?"

"We all thought you were doing it. Edward never –" I shot a glare at her and left before she finished her sentence. She knew better about what I had and had not done the past week…and yet…

Sprinting through the ships, I burst into the cabin above deck. The room was dark; the sound of the door slamming open echoed eerily in my mind.

As my eyes adjusted, I noticed a small lantern dangling on the ceiling, swaying with the waves. Under it sat Edward, his spoon raised as if to take a bite from the mushroom soup; his eyes were staring at me, though, as if I was a cannon ball that dropped mysteriously from the sky.

Ignoring his expression, I strode over in brisk steps, pulled on the arm I had hurt, and rolled up the sleeve. The bandage had turned yellow with a pungent smell. I felt the color drain from my face. "Why?"

He shrugged wordlessly. Though his expression was solemn, his eyes danced as if he had endless amusement. He watched me as I found a roll of wrapped up linen bandage, sprinted away to come back with some water, and raided his cabinets for a box of herbs I had seen the last time I came to steal away his gun.

The more I worked on untying the bandage, however, the more something pricked against my skin, as if I was being led into a trap – the victim of a prank. I slowly unwrapped the bandage, trying to dissect my feelings, but no answer came.

It was not until I had completely exposed the knife wound that I stopped short. There was no infested wound, save for a thin scab that was already starting to fall away. My sudden panic melted away as quickly as it came. He stared at me, judging my next move. His stance was stiff, as if he was expecting a smack. No. I would not hit him no matter how badly he deserved it. He would have ample time to dodge my smack and maybe be quick enough to catch my wrist. Locks and chains I can pick open. Handcuffs made from iron-strong grips I could not.

Instead, I focused on the mushroom soup sitting in front of him. It seemed untouched, and I was hungry. "Hi, Captain!" I greeted in a falsely cheery voice that made him wince. "How much do you like this mushroom soup?"

"I haven't tasted it to tell," he replied, his eyes guarded and narrowed.

"So…if I _accidentally_ spilled it all, would you object?"

"What you never have, you never miss." I smirked. I had him exactly where I wanted him to be.

"Really?" He nodded, his eyes never left mine. "In other words, I could take the bowl and you wouldn't protest, aye?"

He finally got where I was going. Before he could protect his dinner, however, I had spirited it away. I recalled the mushroom soup I had left in the kitchens. Perhaps the girls will take pity on him. He sat in silence, watching me with envious eyes as I devoured his dinner.

"You can go now," he snapped. I guess hunger makes all men snappy.

"Go where?"

"I don't care." After a second, he added. "Remember our contract."

"Oh how kind of you! I'd gladly move from this wooden chair to the bed. It's stuffed, isn't it? More comfy than that rope." As I said this, I placed the bowl on the table and went to sit on the bed.

"But I never said –"

"You are very kind. Thank you for your offer. Piracy doesn't suit you."

Infuriated, he stood up until he towered over me. "You get off my boat!"

I paid no attention to him. "Is the bed stuffed with straw or feather?"

"Do you want to leave or do you want to loose your head?"

"Well… I'm not leaving. So if you really must cut my throat, you'd better get on with it."

To his credit, he really _did_ try to draw his sword. What he didn't remember was that he had left it on the table on the other side of the room. He realized this when he groped for air, but then he threw up his hands in a frustrated 'I give up' gesture and stormed out of the cabin. I sighed. At least an angry Edward doesn't make my heart hammer against my chest and all my thoughts muddled to the point of stupidity… no matter how warm I felt when that happened.

Feeling the familiar shape of my amulet, I got up from the bed, picked up the now-empty dishes, and brought them to the kitchen. To my relief, I saw no Alice nor Rosalie. They had to have set this entire encounter up, and I had no patience left to spare them the sudden anger that sprouted out of nowhere – anger at myself, my sharp words, and the burden I carried. Nothing felt right. The encounter with James, the conversation with Leon, my all-too-easy escape, and even the storm that was brewing all weighed down on me in an entangled web of mysteries, emotions, and trouble – so much that I staggered and suffocated under its sheer volume.

I hadn't noticed where I was walking until my way was blocked by the railing. I was at the bow of the ship. The moon shone so beautiful and round. I yearned for its peace and tranquility. _What must I do?_ I called out. _Where is my path going to lead me?_

"Want to share your troubles?" I started, twirled around. It was Jasper. A small smile pulled at the corner of my lips, but I shook my head no. Some secrets had to stay secrets. "Well, if you've naught to share, I do. I have to congratulate you first, though," he chuckled. "I have never seen anyone make Edward loose his temper in such a short time. It took Emmett years of work to see Edward just _yell_ once. He's on the edge of _throwing things_ now."

I studied him for a moment. He was trying to lighten the mood, but speaking the truth at the same time. "Why are you telling me this?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to congratulate you." I narrowed my eyes. That was not the whole truth.

"Shall I rephrase that? You wanted to know _how_ I did it… and if I'm willing to undo it." To my surprise, he laughed.

"You are too shrewd." The laughter was suddenly gone from his stance. He seemed to be steeling himself for something.

"I will talk with him." I turned to leave, but he quickly called out.

"Be careful of the men," he warned. "They know the ship's considered a pirate one, but they have not come to terms with the fact that one of the crew is a girl."

As I made my way toward the latch that led below decks, I never saw a shadow breaking away from the rest to join Jasper and how they seemed to whisper conspiratorially, finally sharing a kiss to congratulate their works. I never realized how much trouble and planning little Alice had gone through to push me back into the midst of men as a woman when they thought me a man.

* * *

**Sly, sly Alice and her plans that somewhat fails lol... I had wanted to add some interaction between Bella and the rest of the crew, but somehow the flow of the chapter steered me away from it. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out a little bit faster than I had this one, since I've gotten most of the most important tasks to do out of my plate. As always, please tell me what you think.**

**-Cathy**


	14. Conspiracy in a Storm

**A/N: Heya! I'm back on my computer...and Korea...and my college-visiting trip... and is now typing furiously on the computer whenever I've time. This is made difficult by the fact that I go to a boarding high school and I have to pack up my bags for move-in tomorrow...and do all the laundry that I haven't done due to the aforementioned trips. Korea was awesome, albeit a little too stuffy for my tastes. We did robot stimulation programming, and I really loved how everything worked out :D I even got a 4GB flash drive because my team won the automatic maze robot stimulation (hurrah!).**

**Anyways... this chapter I kind of like and kind of don't like. I think I'm going to go back and edit this one some time before the end of time ;) . **

* * *

**Chapter 13**

-Interlude-

Deep under Marilyn laid a complicated network of sewers and drains. Waste from every house in the city fed into the upper pipes that exited into the ocean or the nearby rivers. The upper pipes everyone knew of as his or her savior from smelly streets, but the unused middle and lower pipes soon became only a legend.

There were only two entrances to the middle pipes and one to the lower pipes. In these two systems, even the rats dared not to trespass. Here, in the lower pipes, the very walls hungered for the touch of a mortal for the past hundred years. Here, no mortal had ever stepped inside with impunity. Several skeletons and decaying bodies near where the entrance had collapsed warned future adventurers of their incoming demise, but no one knew how they died. Even if they did, they didn't live long enough to spread the tale or protect themselves.

Twenty-some years ago, a small, almost-unnoticed horror had swept through Marilyn. A part of the lower pipes exploded and collapsed, creating a second entrance. The explosion caused a shockwave of tremors that could be felt miles and miles away. The epicenter was directly under an ancient house near the outskirts of town in which lived three ancient men. The house sank into the ground, and it was generally assumed that the old men had finally died.

Deep underground, imprisoned by the very spell that allowed them to survive the collapse, were the three restless old men.

"I can't believe ol' Fate left the amulet to a girl! Just what were you drinking when you spoke with her last?"

"Caius, you know as well as I do that I don't have the influence as I once did."

"You mean, you are_ under_ influence rather than above it," the man named Caius snapped. The other man chuckled.

"True, I can't hold liquor the way I used to, either… or was that because they make them much stronger now?"

"We would be of much more help to her if _Marcus_ hadn't messed up that potion he's working on and blew up the house, too." Caius glared at the man sitting in the far corner, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Fine, fine. Just let me be the scapegoat, Caius, and don't worry about solving the problem," Marcus shot back. "Remember that it's all Aro's curiosity and amusement of the lower pipes that had us trapped here in the first place. I wouldn't have been going anywhere near that potion book if he didn't approach me."

"Ahh, but Marcus, I didn't lie to James and tell him to go after the one thing he mustn't destroy. You might as well have told him the truth. If he opens the gate, we'll have those demons again and that King of demons that killed so many and hoarded the gold. Look at us. Even wizards have their years numbered, and we're nearing the end of ours," proclaimed Aro.

"Demons are much easier to banish than the Immortal that James sought to become," Marcus mumbled, as if suddenly unsure. "Besides, there are two ways you and I know of to become that kind of Immortal: one is by drawing upon the deep magic in the land, in which case he will become a spirit; the other is by consuming the life force of others, and in doing so, adding their life counter to yours. We can't tell him to start a massacre of blood-draining. And his soul is too darkened for the first way to work, you know that!"

"That beats having a girl guard an amulet."

"There is always the possibility of the Gate being destroyed," added Caius. "And one of two things can result: either the void becomes forever shut or the void becomes forever open."

"And the girl?"

"If she fails to protect the amulet and the Gate becomes open, she will be among the lucky first to die. If the void is crumbled shut, her soul will most likely be forever imprisoned beneath the rubble."

"Whatever we can do, we will do," said Aro, his voice soft and muted. "For now, we play matchmaker. That boy she's on the ship with will protect her in a much more _substantial_ way than we could ever do in these pipes." The other two men sighed. No matter where their conversations led them, they always ran back to this same point: they had spent the past twenty-some years building up a protection for the amulet based upon the emotion cold-hearted evil beings never experience. Love. The girl has the amulet, and she wasn't about to give the amulet away anytime soon. Someone on the ship has to love her and receive her love in return to activate the protection.

But it seemed almost hopeless: she was witty and arrogant (sometimes) and he was stubborn and spiteful…

--

The sleeping quarters of the men were much crowded. The ship was large in size; there were thirty ship-hands and ten deck hands, plus two watchers and the Cullen family. Usually at this hour of the night, the men raided each other's pockets in games – poker, blackjack, whatever they choose to gamble with. The noise often hummed in the background, even when I was above deck. Today, however, I descended into the midst of it. There was shouting and groaning as men won and lost each game. When I burst in through the door, all noise faded. Everyone was staring at me as if I had bunny ears and a jackal tail. My cheeks grew hot and I kept my eyes away from their scrutiny.

In the far corner of the room, drinking mugs of rum with Emmett, sat Edward. His mug was half-raised to his lips and he was staring at me as if he knew my every thought.

The sudden silence was stifling. I could hear the rasp of everyone's breaths. Someone coughed. Someone shifted uneasily. Someone cleared his throat loudly. All the men perked up and parted a path. Mike strode through, his eyes dark with unknown fury but guarded. I kept mine expressionless. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"I feel so honored to have silence upon my entrance."

He sneered in reply. "It's more like pondering at the possibilities of having you onboard," he answered. He swept his tongue over his thin lips, exaggerating the motion. It took all of my will not to punch him.

He took my moment's disgust to advance. I had a brief moment of warning before he grabbed my wrist trying to punch him, pulled, and pinned me against his body, which smelled badly like a tank of rotten cabbages. I glared at him out of the corner of my eyes, but he seemed to have forgotten I never took kindly to being held prisoner. With my free hand, I reached for my dagger, flicking the first few inches of the blade out with my thumb.

I needn't have. With reflexes faster than I thought he possessed, Edward crossed the room in two strides, wrenched me out of Mike's grasp, and thumped him on the head so that he fell to his knees. A silent but collective gasp spread across the room.

"Listen," he started, "how Key is treated before is how she will be treated right now. If I even _hear_ any special treatment, your punishment will be worse than having a pounding head."

Just like that, he pulled me from the room, striding so quickly that I stumbled every other step. Even when going up the ladder, he practically pulled my entire weight up. In what seemed like mere seconds, we arrived on the balcony above the cabin. The wind blew calmly from the south, almost as if resting for the race that soon will begin.

"You can let go of me now. No one here but you," I muttered. He looked at our clasped hands, as if suddenly realizing that mine was still in his. Almost reluctantly, he let go. I rubbed my wrist, trying to get the blood flowing back into my hand.

He leaned into the wind, elbows resting on the balcony. The silence was comfortable if not tension-filled. I tried to do the same: gazing out into the sea, but my eyes would always shift back to peer at his profile.

There, under the bright moon, he was beautiful. His bronze-colored hair glimmered under a silver coating and his eyes gained a sparkle that seemed to add a sense of mystery.

"There is a storm coming soon," he said to no one in particular. Yet, he glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes, as if to gauge my reaction. I merely raised an eyebrow in reply.

"Storms are out of season for this part of the sea. I don't like the feel of it," I answered. I caught him staring at me again. Puzzled, I asked, "Do I have a mole or something suddenly pop on my face?"

He started, eyes darting everywhere almost as if looking for an escape. "I expected you to yell about how competent you are at making your stand so I chose a place away from prying ears… and now you're talking to me about the weather?"

"I know my limits with Mike. Had you not intervened, his life would be at least half gone by now. I don't even have time to thank you and you're expecting me to yell at you?" His dazzling green eyes lingered on me in a mixture of bewilderment and amusement. "Are you sure I don't have a mole suddenly pop up on my cheek?"

"You don't act the way people expect you to. I thought I knew you quite well…I guess I don't." I snorted at that.

"You've time." His eyes gazed away, looking at the invisible storm clouds.

"For how long?" I heard him mutter, but I couldn't be sure.

--

The sea winds howled when the storm finally struck. Waves towered over the ship, threatening to break it in half. Emmett was at the steering wheel, trying to ride swell after swell rather than getting crushed beneath it. The sea screeched and splashed. Every few minutes, water waist-high would wash across the deck, sometimes tossing boxes and deckhands against the straining railings, sometimes finding its way down the latch below decks where more crewmen worked to pump out the extra water.

I squinted into the wind; the rain that was flung into my face stung. A dark shape in the distance looked to be some sort of a ship, but the darkness of the night and the danger of the storm dampened my intuition enough so that I couldn't tell one from the other.

The ship swerved suddenly as I reached for the cable countless hours (or was it only minutes?) later. It smacked me with enough force to make me gasp. The water made me slip – my eyes stung from the exhaustion of being awake longer than I could count.

My legs clamped around the cable tighter…but it was no use. I was still slipping dangerously low. I was now low enough that the next wave would wash me overboard, but still high enough that the railing won't save me. However, I had stopped slipping. The cable was worn with use, with the extra friction stopping my slide. I cursed. I was so drenched and cold that to release my handhold on the rope would be painful. My legs were no better. If I managed to untangle the mess, I'd be washed overboard from lack of movement anyway.

And, approaching with great speed and vigor was the crest of another wave, borne by the wind and frothing, as if salivating for my ultimate demise in its embraces. There wasn't time to react. I tried to swing to the nearest cable – one that was secured on both ends instead of dangling freely.

"Not quick enough," I whispered to myself seconds before the wave washed over the deck and made the ship swerve dangerously close to flipping over. My hands clenched around the rope – anything. It was suddenly the wave against me. No railing to help me if I failed. The onslaught of water completely immersed me in its depths. I held my breath as long as I could, but even then, the water seemed to completely surround me. With a last desperate burst of bubbles, I let go of the rope to get a gulp of air before the wave dumped me under again. It was no use. I was borne away up and over the ship.

All of five seconds had passed, but it seemed like hours, as I flew over the railing and began dropping into the angry waters below. My mind turned from running on instinct to running on memories. The last time I had fallen out of a ship, my father left me. This time, I will be going back to him.

A sudden hand grasped my flailing wrist with a jerk that had me gasping in pain. My senses cleared. The wave had washed away; and, if the small patch of blue to the horizon was any indication, the storm would soon be hungry for some other ship. The ship, like one of those dolls that never topple, flung itself back into an upright position, still swaying more than usual as the storm tried one last time to break it.

A brief flash of lightning lit up his features. Edward. Shocked, I mouthed to him, "What are you doing?"

"Saving you," he mouthed back, at the same time using the motion of the ship to drag me back on deck. His breathing was hard, his eyes wild with some emotion I couldn't decipher.

Standing up, I looked at the clear patch of sky I saw earlier. It was bigger now; we were closer. The rain and wind both lessened. It was silent between us, though I could hear Emmett's shouting at the ship hands to sweep the water away and to start inspection for damages. I shifted my gaze back to him. His eyes seemed to smolder now.

"I thought you hated me – you wanted me to go," I whispered, not trusting my voice. It sounded weak and breathless.

He looked away, a frown passed over his face, as if he didn't know why he saved me either. "Isn't that what I should do?" He paused, frowning more. "I can't let you die on my conscious." His voice trailed off. He seemed to find sudden interest in the woody grains of the mast while running a hand nervously through his messy bronze hair. With a half-mumbled excuse, he walked away.

But not before I caught his ears turning a strange shade of red in the light of the late morning sun that finally broke through the clouds.

* * *

**I'm not sure whether that's considered a cliffy or not... but I had to take a break from typing... and... I don't know... I sorta want some input/thoughts on how this new plot twist is before I continue, so I can edit the next chapter as I type/edit (it's about half-typed).**

**I may not have internet tomorrow or Wednesday, so I'm going to try my best to get the next chapter typed and posted before this weekend :D.**

**Until then... please leave a note on what you think? :D**

**--Cathy**


	15. Trailed and Followed

**A/N: Okay...so I wanted to update this chapter a week ago, but due to unforeseen circumstances (such as a bombardment by my school's newcoming Sophomores for their internet to be set up and lots of other beginning-of-school-in-a-dorm thing) I wasn't able to get this all typed up until just now. Anyways... school has fully started for 2 weeks now (although the first week was just for moving in and getting back into the swing of living on campus again)... and I do have to say that college apps are going to be the death of me sometime this semester. I can't really promise when the next update is going to be, but I'm going to try my best for at least one update per month. Thanks to everyone who's been patient with my crazy schedules and stayed reading... and I'm hoping that you still will keep reading to give me feedback when I update again :D.**

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**Chapter 14**

Jasper and Alice were up to something.

They gave me knowing smiles whenever I swung by, often articulated with a knowing wink. I was half-tempted to call a duel with Jasper just to wipe that smirk off his face.

I was very restless. My neck prickled as if someone was going to place his sword there. A ship was trailing us; that much I figured out by now. Once in a while, when Edward called for the ship to drop anchor to give his crew a rest, I saw the faint outline of another ship in the distance. The captain of that ship was keeping careful watch. I knew he could see our every move while we could not reciprocate; unless during the hour after we stop.

The moon was full a week after the storm. Edward considered docking at the port nearest Marilyn and restocking the ship stock while trying to run some repairs. Several railing sections showed signs of rotting and looked dangerously to be falling apart any moment. The sails were ripped at the edges, but he absolutely refused me to fix them, as if I was incompetent.

Three days of noticing that we were being followed, Jasper and Alice's knowing smirks, and Edward being suddenly protective later, I burst. I snapped at anyone who came my way and treated even the precious bowls so badly that they cracked and broke. When Mike made a face at me, smiling evilly as if he wanted me skinned, I had whipped out my dagger so fast that he didn't get a chance to react before it struck the wood of the wall in front of his nose, neatly skinning the tip. I had thrown a glare his way before plucking my dagger from the wall. He stuck his foot out to trip me, but I stepped on top, stomping as hard as I could. It was the first time I felt so satisfied in a long time, hearing him trying to hide his hiss of pain.

Jasper I didn't have as much luck with.

When he drove me to the point of drawing out my dagger, he clenched my wrist and whispered, "Don't even think about it." Half the time, I wanted to push him overboard just to wipe that mysteriously annoying smirk off his face. However, when I mentioned this to Alice, she had paled and ran off, as if to assure herself that Jasper was still on deck.

Nevertheless, I grew more and more restless and brusque. During one of the rare late-night gambling parties, I couldn't even bother to selectively win and lose. I snapped at anyone who dared to comment on my luck; the one-hour game lasted shorter than all the others because I ran on autopilot and won every last penny, which I ended up returning to their previous owners anyway. During the day, I swung on the ropes; they and the wind were the two things that blew away all my worries, all my thoughts. It took all of my concentration and more not to slip when swinging from one dangling cable to another, sliding down a mast here and climbing back up another.

On the fifth day, all hell broke loose.

The wind was southerly – a tail wind that billowed the sails nicely. The morning dawned with a haze in the horizon. I had the watch shift for the night, but even though I hadn't slept for over a day, I felt oddly restless in the morning – even more so. A certain dread descended. It was as if the ship was going to be attacked soon.

_Attacked soon…attacked soon…_

The words echoed in my head thousands of times until I jumped from the crow's nest sliding single-handedly down a length of rope to the bottom. The rope burns wiped my mind clean though I had severely skinned my palms.

As soon as I realized that, I cursed. _Attacked soon_. The mysterious pursuer was close, and what better day to launch an attack than today, with the morning haze limiting sight? They had the element of surprise: I hadn't yet told anyone of my 'sixth sense' as Leon used to call it. Alice, however, was tense that morning. She hovered around the stern-side, as if trying to catch a glimpse of a sea monster.

I looked at angry welts on my palms and cursed again. If I couldn't keep a tight hold on my dagger, I might not be able to survive this day.

Tearing a long strip of cloth from an old shirt I found lying around to wrap my hands with, my mind registered the general lack of noise onboard. It was as if everyone suddenly felt the looming danger… or noticed that Alice was acting oddly.

As if she knew I was thinking about her that moment, she stood directly in front of me, piercing me with a stare. "How long did you know?"

"I _don't_ know," I replied calmly. "I _sense_. I've sensed this since a week ago. I've seen the ship sometimes. It's been following us."

"Why didn't you tell?!"

"Why didn't _you_ tell?" She looked into my eyes, hers flashing an angry color. She was frustrated. I could tell from her expression that she had known about this for some time, too. And yet, like me, she had decided to keep it secret.

She was the first to break the stare. "I wasn't sure. I don't tell anyone if I'm not sure." I opened my mouth to say that I had the same problem; she didn't give me the chance. "You are different. As a watcher, you'd have seen the ship! Why didn't you tell if you're sure?"

"Am I sure?" I shook my head. "We'd better prepare for escape or battle."

--

The first of the cannon bombs deafened my ears. By some chance of luck, the enemy ship's cannons either missed completely or only skidded across the deck leaving bruises but the ship otherwise unharmed.

We didn't have any cannon balls.

We used the few ones that skidded across deck.

Each one somehow hit a hole in the hull of the ship.

It was as if Fate was helping us on purpose. But nonetheless, the enemy ship pulled closer and closer until a plank was put across the two ships despite desperate defense tries.

I saw the men as they leapt across the small distance between the ships. I heard the clang of dagger against dagger, sword against sword. The attackers waved their weapons wildly, as if possessed. Their eyes seemed to glow with bloodlust; they fought as if this was the very last chance they get to, as if they intend to go to hell and drag as many men with them as possible when this was all over.

Flying daggers were flung; I saw as Jasper barely side-stepped a flying knife that skinned his arm nonetheless. His other hand instinctively went to cover his wound; his opponent use that moment to close in on him.

And then the man was suddenly down.

Emmett had knocked the man out with a stone of some sort.

_Timing…it's all about the timing_.

The opposing ship was a giant. There were over fifty ship hands onboard ours and fighting while even more were preparing ropes and chains. They wanted prisoners. They wanted some of us alive.

When I saw Edward fending off three men at once, one of them loading a shotgun, I knew my cue had come. Grabbing a rope as tight as I could, I used the motion to swing downwards. With nearly perfect aim, I managed to kick the head of a man who was loading a gun before landing neatly beside Edward. The man's shotgun fired into the deck; Edward spared me a look and a brief smile before charging head-on.

Just as I was about to help him, there was a small clicking sound. It was the man I had kicked in the head. I didn't kick hard enough. He was standing, his legs so unsteady that his aim wavered.

"You want to shoot me?" I asked him, feeling my lips lift in a grin. I didn't even have to look to block a random lost sword. It swung around on my dagger two times; with a flick of my wrist, it plunged blade first into the deck beside me.

The man wobbled more and moved backwards, nodding mutely. I raised an eyebrow. He visibly gulped and wavered between shaking his head and nodding at the same time.

My ears perked up to running footsteps. A thrill war cry sounded not a second later. My dagger was instinctively raised to meet the oncoming onslaught, my body fluidly sidestepping the assaulter. His sword waved again. I ducked and blocked; when his arms brought his sword over his head again, a sharp kick sent the sword flying into the dark blue waters of the ocean. A quick swipe at the throat and he slumped forward, unseeing.

More footsteps behind me. Just as I raised my dagger to parry again, a thrill gunshot rang out.

I turned around to meet the startled eyes of another assaulter, his gaze looking at the pool of blood staining his shirt. I twirled around. It was the man with the gun. He was staring at me in horror, as if I was one of the walking dead. I raised an eyebrow at him again.

He pointed the gun in my direction, as if trying to warn me if I took another step, he'd shoot me. I shook my head in reply, smiling. "Do you not realize what kind of gun you're holding? It holds only one bullet. Your gun is empty, and don't you even try reloading it while I am watching." He gulped again at my words, staring at the gun in horror. In disgust, he threw it at me, raising his hands up in a classic surrender.

He had to save his dignity and ego though… pure male pride drove him, I guessed. His eyes pierced me. "There are more where I came from. You can escape for one attack… but could you escape thousands of us at once? You can conquer me, but you can never possess the strength to fight off this ship!" With that, he laughed and threw himself into the water.

Two things I gathered from his words: the attacking ship came for me, and that if I stayed, I will be the death of everyone on this ship – ship hands that had treated me like brothers to a beloved tomboy sister – equals, despite the fact that males naturally consider themselves above the females.

My kill count steadily rose. The first twenty were simple. But I grew weary. The torrent of men never seemed to stop. I saw Jasper briefly leaning on a door frame before charging to help Alice. Rosalie was back-to-back with Emmett as they tried to defend each other while being surrounded.

Not ten minutes later, just after my thirty-second kill, someone had cornered Edward.

We had lost.

--

Gagged and tied. Doesn't that sound familiar? The only problem was, I was not alone. Edward was tied to a chair on the other side of the room, his eyes closed in concentration as if thinking of a way to get everyone out. Alice and Jasper were put across the room from each other, but they stared into each other's eyes in such a way as to make me flinch and shy away. Only Emmett could find something extremely hilarious in a situation like this. Somehow he was tied together with Rosalie to a pole. They tucked their heads together and giggling was heard every few moments.

I was in a corner, hidden behind a giant cabinet. I doubt anyone even knew I was here.

I tested the knot. They were smarter about it. The knot was tied right to my side. My shoulders blocked the view of it and my hands couldn't reach it.

Twenty minutes later, I breathed a sigh of relief. That was by far one of the most complicated knots I had to undo without looking. Alice sighed at the same time.

"Now that you're free, Key," she muttered, "would you mind untying the rest of us, too?" All heads in the room snapped up, searching for me. Edward was the first to spot me in the corner. His eyes widened as if he saw a ghost.

Startled, I dropped the 'still-tied up' pretense I held. The ropes dropped uselessly in a puddle. Glaring at her for ruining my moment of triumph, I walked by everyone, quickly untying the knots.

Somebody onboard seemed to know me well. No one else's knots were as complicated as mine. A quick tug in the right direction and the knot untied itself. Easy. My eyes narrowed. This seemed to confirm my previous assumption that they were looking for me. _I_ was the reason the _Twilight_ was attacked.

When I untied Alice, she gave me a look that said 'now is not the time to question me'. I nodded. She better give me a decent answer when the time comes... if it came at all.

I didn't wait until everyone was free, though. With a quick nod to Edward, I tried to open the door of the cramped room. It was locked, but there was no keyhole. The door rattled softly on the other side when I leaned against it. _Padlocked on the outside with a solid door between the lock and me_. No ship captain would willingly spare an actual room for prisoners unless he knew one of his prisoners could pick locks. My stomach turned uneasily at the thought.

Leon once warned me to always keep a few tricks under the belt – tricks that no one would think of using because of the impossibility of it. Nothing was impossible. I withdrew a thin blade from my boots – a blade that was flexible enough not to be detected when they ran a search down my clothing for hidden weapons. My lock picks weren't taken; neither was the blade.

The makeshift knife fit neatly in the crack between the door and the doorframe. Two sharp twists left a small thumb-sized hole to peek out of.

The padlock was just below the hole; the keyhole was facing to the side. The room was the very last in a long corridor that curved away. Five minutes later, the padlock was dangling uselessly on the lockplate, most likely never fit for any more locking. I sneaked from the room. I knew others wanted to follow, if not to protect me, then to escape. Jasper stopped them all with a touch on their shoulders.

Barely daring to breathe, I crept along the deserted walkways. Everything was so still – it was as if I wasn't on a ship, though the dank, musty smells told me otherwise. But how? How was this like an actual _house_ on land when all my senses told me otherwise?

The ship seemed to be infinitely big. Ladders were reinforced with steel plates to keep them from collapsing, but there seemed to be more things at work keeping the ladders together than just the flimsy steel plates. The third turn after the second ladder I climbed brought a wave of sea air. We were definitely not near land. The breeze brought the pure smell of the ocean – a smell that could barely be detected if we were near land. The ship, however, didn't even roll from a wave.

Faint voices floated down. "What are you talking about?!" the voice was familiar, like I've heard it before. "Patrol…every ten minutes…" There was a laugh. "What could… girl… get out?"

They were talking about me. As I got closer, it became clear whose voice that I knew. Jacob.

"Even with the precautions we put on her, she could escape!" he was shouting. His voice wavered in intensity, as if he was pacing very fast. "In fact, she could be right outside this door listening to this very conversation!"

Footsteps shuffled along. A door opened. A shadow briefly passed over the rays of light shining through before the door banged shut again. From behind the box I hid behind, I had seen Jacob, leaning over a desk.

"You're just paranoid, boy," a gruff voice said. One by one, they all left the room, their footsteps fading away.

The last person to leave the room was an old man – so old that his hair was white as the freshest snow. He stopped at the doorway. "I know better to underestimate these lasses who make their way into the men's world. I will check on her."

I heard his footsteps coming this way. He couldn't check on the room without either noticing me. At the next turn, I tripped him over, immediately placing on knee on his back so he couldn't get up.

"Yell, and your life is forfeit," I whispered. I flinched at my choice of words. That was a bad move…his answer confirmed it.

"I'm an old man, lass. My life's been on the line too many times for this to be a threat."

I let him go then. I went near no weapons. He won't hurt me.

He stood up, groaning, but raised an eyebrow at my actions. "You are not afraid that I will yell now? You aren't even aware of the possibility that I could easily mob you?"

I grinned. "If you want to yell, you would've yelled when you noticed someone had mobbed you already, instead of waiting to be threatened. Besides, I've mobbed you once, you'd be conscious that I have more skills up my sleeve than my mere size indicates." I shook my head. "No, you dare not attack me until you know more about me at this moment."

His eyes betrayed his shock. "I thought I overestimated you, even if I believed Jacob's description of you. Seems that even my overestimation is underestimating you." I snorted.

"You don't have to pretend you appraise me." I raised an eyebrow at the movement of his hand toward his belt. "Nor do you have to pretend that you still have a gun." I brought my right hand from behind my back, twirling the gun easily on my forefinger.

"I can still yell."

"No you can't." My eyes flickered behind him. Jasper was there, as was Edward. Trusting my instincts and them, I turned my back on the man, pretending not to notice his startled yet muffled yelp at being suddenly gagged and bound. When I turned around, the man was gone; Edward was in his place. I tossed the shotgun to him, which he caught perfectly. "There are four bullets in there. Gather everyone an inconspicuous place. I'm pretty sure they haven't destroyed the _Twilight_. Don't use the gun unless you absolutely have to." I started to walk back to the room where I last saw Jacob. Stopping a few steps away, I turned around and met his eyes. "And thanks."

I walked away again.

Jacob better be able to explain why he wanted me prisoner.

* * *

**Well... I'm a very bad judge for cliffies and stuff. I was going to end this at "I'm an old man, lass. My life's been on the line too many times for this to be a threat" but I thought better of it. So... next chapter... why is Jacob on the ship? Why do they want Bella? Is it for the amulet? ;)**

**The current development of the plot is inspired by several reviews (you know who you are... I only remember content, not so much matching reviewer with their corresponding reviews...sorry!). So I want to thank them before I forget :D **


	16. What would you do if?

**A/N: I've finally found the time to type up this chapter (yay!). It's a little shorter than most of the previous ones, but I didn't want to leave you guys with some sort of a cliff hanger, seeing that I'm updating once a month or so... so I'm being nice in that perspective :D.**

**Anyways, there's a thing called a sleep bomb mentioned in this chapter. ****Definition of sleep bomb: bombs that slowly release odorless "chemicals" into the air that make people fall asleep…kinda like carbon monoxide, only it won't make you die. They had these sorts of things in the 1800's and earlier…as far as I know/remember, it's an invention from the Chinese, mainly used by robbers or evil people.**

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**Chapter 15**

The door was closed when I approached. I slight push, and it opened with a creaking sound. Jacob was at the table in the far end, leaning heavily on it, his fingers wiping invisible sweat from his face. Without looking up, he spoke, "She's still there?"

"Aye, I'm still here," I replied.

His head snapped up. His usually tan skin turned a shade paler, even in the dim flickering light. Something was off; I couldn't pick out exactly what. A warning bell sounded in my head, though it was weak. No danger… but something wasn't right. He opened his mouth to explain, but I cut him off.

"I know there's a reason I am here. There's a reason I'm alive…and so are most of the crew you can get your hands on. I don't want to hear those made-up half-excuses you want to throw my way," I told him. Kicking the door shut behind me, I gestured wildly. "Why? Where am I? Why are you so concerned that I don't escape?" My breath was quick with my outrage. He just stood there, staring at me as if his gaze could burn a hole.

"They bound Billy, Bells. It was Billy's life versus finding you…and they swore in a blood oath that they won't hurt you…and that they'll try the best to keep you alive if you tried to kill yourself. I had to…" he gulped at my glare, "I had to choose the lesser of the two evils…"

"So that means tying me up with a flimsy knot and locked in a room where you made sure I can't escape?" I snorted. "And your approach to 'inviting' me onboard doesn't convince me to let down my guard." _Not that I could, even if I tried, _I added silently.

"I'm trying to save you!" The warning bell sounded again. He was not telling me something.

"And would you mind telling me just _how_ you're saving me?"

"Just give them whatever they want – some sort of necklace, they said – and they'll let us all free. They promised."

"And did you ask exactly _how_ they're going to let 'us' all free?" I snapped. "They might as well slit your neck and call that 'freeing you from the constraints of life'! Where has that mind of yours gone to?" He was barely standing, his knees wobbling to the point of almost giving out. This was not the Jacob I had known. The Jacob I had known would not shake in front of me. The Jacob I'd known would have personally tied me up and stood guard. Suddenly, I realized that there was more to this… _man_… that looked exactly like Jacob Black than I originally thought.

Suddenly angry, I closed in on him; he nearly keeled over at my approach. Finally, we were arms length apart. I stared into his eyes, the dark brown pools that seemed suddenly to be so murky. There was a sort of desperation in them…as if someone else was trapped in a foreign body. "Who are you and what have you done to Jacob Black?" I asked, whipping out my dagger to place at his throat.

His reaction only further proved that he was not Jacob. Jacob would've grasped the blade and my wrist and tried to catch me unaware. This…_impostor_… only trembled and shied away.

I questioned him again, almost growling. He whimpered. "I… I'll t-t-tell you if you m-m-move that a-away."

"No tricks," I warned, before sliding the dagger back. He eyed the door uneasily. A sharp kick to his knees made him groan as he collapsed.

"My name is Tyler, Tyler Crowley. I don't know what happened to Jacob, nor what happened to me. We both signed up on this ship; he was always rebellious, as if he was forced to do something he didn't want to," this _Tyler_ swallowed, licking his dry lips. "A few days ago, the captain ordered Jacob to be brought before him. The captain was angry…everyone but Jacob seemed afraid of him. In front of all the rest of us, he did something…I don't know what. Jacob just collapsed…and it started raining. The rain steamed away from his body until he seemed to be sizzling."

His eyes were wide with the terror that must have passed that day. His voice sounded distant as he continued his story. "The captain's eyes seemed to be redder than normal as he spoke of the wrongdoings of Jacob. He warned us that anyone who dares to do the same will have the same punishment. And though Jacob never screamed, we couldn't imagine ourselves burning up like that. The captain looked into my eyes last, and then we all went to bed. I woke up next morning finding myself with memories that are not mine and a body that's not mine. And here I am."

"And Jacob?"

"I really don't know!" he sobbed. "I look at myself in the mirror and see Jacob, but I know I'm still Tyler…with Jacob's knowledge and not a clue how to function! Everyone else around me seemed to be driven by some mad force…they seem to watch my every move…"

The hair on the back of my neck prickled. He seemed to be stalling for time and yet telling the truth. He had nothing more of use he could tell me. As I turned to go, the Jacob-Tyler screeched, "Bella!"

I halted, not turning to look at him, as he pleaded. "Please take me away from this waking terror."

"Jacob knows how. Go with his instincts." I murmured, sprinting out the door and turning blindly down the below-deck hallways.

Three things I knew at that instant: Firstly, Jacob was not Jacob anymore. Secondly, my enemy has _powers_ and _magic_ – things that you'd only believe if it were told in fairytales. And lastly, if I want to somehow survive until the next year, Captain Edward is my only hope…but I couldn't bring more danger to the crew. I would leave them as soon as I could, if only to save their lives, even Mike's.

--

As soon as I stepped on deck of the _Twilight_, I was engulfed in a warm hug by the rest of the crew, staggering under their weight. Faces seemed to lit up. A small traitorous voice said in the back of my mind, _don't leave…you're home_. I wanted to argue… but I knew I had other things to do. Getting free from their stifling hug and giving a smile to each in return, I motioned for us to cast sail. I hoped that the sleep bombs I left burning in the nameless ship would give us a head start enough. Who knew my extra scouting would bring to attention an entire box of them stashed away beneath what seemed to be thousands of other equipment? I took as many of those said equipment (which consisted of daggers, swords, flags, paint…the list goes one) and tried to destroy the rest.

Two days passed without any sign of pursuit. Edward asked me to chart our coordinates, as I had better eyes than the rest of them. I was quite sure we were near the sea town of Melody. I will disappear into the streets… but I had to say goodbye…

The moon was high that night. I leaned on the railing at the bow of the ship, ripping off my bandana to feel the wind brush through my hair. I was strangely impatient for him to come. I didn't tell him, but I knew that he would. At the same time, I didn't want him to. I want to stay. I seemed to have finally found another home and I didn't want to lose it.

"It's a nice evening, isn't it?" I asked when I heard him approach. His steps stirred the air around me. It was chilly. I didn't realize that until his arrival brought with him an aura of warmth.

"Yes." He fell silent, as if unsure how to go on. He leaned on the railing next to me, and suddenly I had an insane urge to lean into him, to bathe in his warmth. He seemed to have felt the same thing. His arm twitched; our eyes locked uncertainly. "Bella," he whispered, my name falling out in a prayer.

"Yes?" I breathed.

"Thank you," he whispered back. His lips were on mine then. It was sweet and intoxicating, flooding my mind with giddiness and an earning for more. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against him. For once, I didn't feel my unconscious instructions to strike out. I leaned into his hold, feeling drunk.

He pulled away first, his eyes smoldering into mine. I struggled to remember the reason I was here.

When I finally did remember, I broke abruptly away, leaning on the railing once again. I felt him shift behind me. "What's wrong?" he whispered hoarsely, as if he had trouble finding his own voice.

I did, too. I swallowed and licked my lips. "If I disappeared one day, what would you do?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them. His quick intake of breath told me that he was not expecting that.

"Why do you want to know?" he said slowly, drawing out each syllable.

"Not your turn to ask questions," I replied, smiling a little to show I was teasing around. I turned serious again. "If I disappeared – died, left, kidnapped, whatever – what would you do?"

He was silent for so long that I had to look at him. His green eyes were blazing, even in the pale moonlight. "If you disappeared, I would search the world for you – search every crevice and every crook…"

"What if you can't find me?" I cut him off.

"What do you think I will do?" I glared at his evasive answer.

"You would forget about me – the girl who snuck onto your ship and annoyed the hell out of you. You would rejoice that I won't be here to bother you anymore and continue life as normal," I replied, hoping that that was what he was going to do, but feeling a pain strike through me at the thought that he would forget me.

His face seemed to almost mirror mine. His brows were furrowed, his lips turned down in a frown. "I wouldn't do that – couldn't," he answered. He was silent again. When he decided to answer, it startled me. "I would search until I lost all hope. If you had died, then I don't think I could live much longer."

I gasped. "You would forget about me. People do that. A year from now, I would be no more than a bad memory." I paused. "What if you don't find me in the next world?"

He looked sharply at me. "I am a monster, Bella," he answered. "I killed more people than I could justly count, in a fit of hurt and pain. There is no _next world _for me. All I could depend on is a nonexistence of the loss I'd feel." I didn't understand. I didn't want to, afraid that it'd give me more reason to stay.

But no. I had to fight my own battle. Dragging others down to the gates of Hell with me went against everything I was taught. In the case of this crew, I'd willingly give my life over theirs…and protect the soft blue amulet hanging around my neck – one that was rumored to hold both the doom of the world and the treasure of all… and one that felt very hot against my skin at that moment.

"Do you want to know why I never let any woman on this ship?" he suddenly prompted. I shrugged in reply, pulling up a blank expression.

"Their names were Lauren and Tanya – sisters. Or, at least, that's what they called each other as. They heard a rumor one day that I had the infamous Sapphire Amulet. I didn't know… they used their trickery on Emmett and me. We succumbed almost without thought. God only knew how we survived when they stripped us bare and left us on an island without a knife or a square of clothing for five days," he sighed, revisiting the memory. "It was Alice and Jasper who picked us up from the island. Even then, it took me almost a year to trust Alice; even longer when Rose joined. I killed mercilessly in hatred of myself – of everyone who sailed a ship because of paranoia. For, despite all I seem, I am afraid to be tricked again. I won't be so lucky a second time."

"And me?"

"You won't trick us." I raised an eyebrow at his words.

"What makes you so sure?"

He didn't answer, his eyes dropping slowly, as if carefully scanning me. Ever so subtle, his hand sneaked to my neck, drawing circles before sliding beneath the collar. I tensed, but he didn't try to do anything more. Instead, he tugged on the hidden chain on which my amulet hung. "You have the ultimate treasure. If I want a share in it, I have to trust you." To my surprise, he smirked, drawing out the warm amulet before tucking it back. My skin seemed to tingle where he touched me.

"It is dangerous. You should know firsthand."

"As are you, despite your attempts to be not."

I didn't answer him, but smacked up upside the head.

He winced, but his eyes brightened in mischief. "You dare treat me so, and you wonder how could I never forget you?"

I glared at him. "That doesn't sound like a compliment." I paused. "How _do_ I treat you?" He opened his mouth to answer, but I cut him off. "To tell the truth, I treat you badly."

"Then you can start being nicer."

I scoffed and snorted. "Your hopeless optimism inspires me to do something impossible." He rolled his eyes. "You seriously want me to be nicer?"

"Yes."

I grinned. With an almost shy kiss to his cheeks, I left for the under-deck. If my instincts were anything to judge by, I'd be able to disappear smoothly into Melody tomorrow night. I could no more change myself than I could change the way the sun rises and sets. 'Being _nice_' means to leave for the good of all.

* * *

**Bella sounds so much like Edward did in Twilight/New Moon at this moment... lol. Any sort of comments, please tell me :D. As always, bunches of thanks for everyone who's putting up with my writing that (for the most part) gets only partially edited for spelling and grammar... and my crazy update schedule :D**

**--Cathy**


	17. Talk about Failures

**A/N: Heya everyone! Long time no see )) Here is the long-awaited 16th chapter, which I had finished typing up while putting off studying for ACT's and a college essay that I was writing (whose deadline is Nov. 1) :o. I think I deserve a knock to the noggin for priority check and also a big hug ;) kidding... but you can give me a hug if you wouldn't mind :D I think I need it, knowing what's coming up (gulp).**

**Anyways... College apps are in full swing, and I'm having such a hard time getting inspiration on what to write about. I hate to sound boastful when writing them, but it seems the few somewhat pathetic ideas I've had make me end up seeming to boast myself or something to that effect. I need major editing and stuff for that. I'm not exactly sure when I could next update again. I'm hoping to have the next one out on or before Thanksgiving, but given the amount of essays I still must write, I don't know if I can guarantee it or not. Look on the bright side, as soon as Christmas (or the week before Xmas) gets here, I'll be completely done with all my college stuff and could update weekly or bi-weekly ))**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

--Interlude pt1—

"Aha! You know, dear Marcus, that if you had added the limpwurt root _before_ you added the red spider eggs, you'd have saved us from a whole bunch of rummaging and being stuck down in this heck of a hole for _years_?" Aro muttered, shaking off the thin layer of frost that always clung to his shirt whenever he paid a visit to Fate, which was quite often these days. In fact, Fate Herself had said that if he came any more often, her family would start thinking that she was having an affair.

"And you, surely you must know that I am half-blind as it is? Have you never learned your lesson all those years ago when we tried to make a love potion for the king? It only served to make his hair pink and frilly," Marcus snorted half in embarrassment and half in dignity. "I am the only one, among us three, that had never made a successful potion in my life. What made you think I'll fare better on that one?"

Caius watched the exchange at the side with interest. Aro's eyes had glinted with amusement. He was practically dancing on the inside. "Have you a way to get out of here?" he asked.

"Oh, no… why would you think thus?" Aro questioned back, all innocent and fake. "Fate's been undergoing through some intense lectures from me. In an effort to rid herself of my constant clatter, she told me –"

"-how to get out?" interrupted Marcus.

"That the girl has decided to run away from the boy," Aro finished, glaring at his brother.

Caius looked on blankly. "And that is good, because…?"

"We're allowed to intervene!"

"By the law of… ?"

"By the law of Aro Subbacus Volturi," answered Aro proudly, with a dramatic flourish.

Caius raised an eyebrow. "Cut the drivel and the yapping. Start talking: what do we do?"

"You two are no fun," Aro muttered, pulling out a roll of paper seemingly out of nowhere…

--End interlude--

I left a few hours after the ship docked at Marilyn. Despite my determination never to return to the ship, I had an undying feeling that I left a part of myself there – a part of myself that said and marked 'this is where my _home_ is'. Jasper seemed to sense my conflicted feelings, and I had overheard Alice tell Emmett to keep a close eye on me. I could easily melt away into a crowd. There was no way the big burly Emmett could keep up with me, but a part of me wanted to be found. A part of me wanted to go _home_.

It took me longer than usual to shake Emmett off my trail. I led him to the backstreets of the city. He never found me there; I shook him off even before the first dead end. Part of me stayed conflicted. I made noise; I led him back into the streets – made sure he was safe before I disappeared from him.

Jasper was trickier. He had somehow picked up my trail while I led Emmett back to the streets. I knew he was with me, but I was never able to catch him following. He was good; and I was making mistakes.

And we both slipped up.

I hid behind an abandoned market cart while he darted past. I moved too soon and he heard, spun around, and found me. His eyes were wide, guarded.

"You're following me," I told him without preamble.

"You're leaving us," he answered.

"Yes, and you're making it difficult."

"Which is another way of saying you don't want to go."

"Let me!" I burst out. His coldness and confidence dug into mine. I felt like I was an onion, and he was peeling my defences layer by layer. So vulnerable… my dagger was drawn to protect myself before I even realized.

"Bella," he said in a low voice. "If you believe that you can save us all by leaving us, you've another think coming. You have something that _they_ want; _they_ knew you were with us last. Do you really think you can protect us by leaving? I don't; even if we say we don't know, do you think they'll really believe us?"

He was weakening my resolve with each word he uttered. I kept my expression break, held my tongue against useless comments that could only be used against me.

"If you want me to believe you, you have to convince my dagger to believe you, first!" I told him calmly despite my heart wrenching. At that moment, I thanked however many deities there were that it was not Edward who had followed me. I would not be able to raise my dagger against him.

Jasper's eyes widened, but his lips curled back into a feral smirk. "I was hoping that our duel date would be on different grounds…" His gaze glinted for a moment, and then his entire mood was masked. He stood still, his head raised as if giving my dagger better access to his neck; his hands hung limply at his sides. He did not even attempt to draw his sword.

I blinked. He was giving me the female face-slap – a composure that said 'you can have a free hit at me because you're going to miss anyways'. Suddenly, he was not Jasper anymore. He was my enemy; my fury sprung up – how dare he do such? My wrist twirled, popping my dagger out of its scabbard completely. He smiled at the metallic ring that sounded; but he still held motionless. _So he was going to keep with his game, isn't he? Very well, I won't miss_.

I struck with all my might and precision. At first, I thought he was actually going to follow through; but at the last second, he moved. He twirled sideways with a waist turn and drew his sword. I followed through with my swing to meet his with a block. The metal clanged together. I moved to trip him but he easily jumped over my stretched out leg. His sword came arching down in a perfect swing; my non-dagger hand came to meet his wrist to deflect the hit at the last minute.

And just as suddenly, the duel became a one-armed fist fight. His other hand came to block mine as his deflected sword swung down to meet my dagger. My other hand was guarding, parrying, and trying to get a grip on his wrist while he was doing the same. I made to punch, but only managed to hit his palm as he made to grab my fist. A flick of my wrist, and I was free, but his fingers wrapped around my arm. Before his grip tightened, I turned my hand so that I was gripping his forearm, too. I felt like I was in multiple places at once – his sword was still being held in place by my dagger.

Kicking off from the ground, I used his knees and chest as an anchor to flip myself backwards. He stumbled while I ended lightly on my feet, trying to ignore my stinging wrist where he scratched it. His eyes narrowed at me again. He thrust with the sword as I spun away to the side and behind him, jerking hard on his shoulder so that he stumbled again. With newfound confidence, I avoided his quick attacks; catching his sword in mid-swing to deflect it into a different direction. He recovered, his fist colliding with my chin, sending me sprawling.

I heard his fast steps approaching. Kicking up, I landed on my feet, letting my back leg slide back until I was on the ground with a perfect split. My dagger's point just barely pierced his throat as he struggled with his momentum. There was a second when my heart hammered in my chest – I was deathly afraid that I was going to kill him. The second passed; he stopped, and stared into my eyes. He looked almost comical. His sword was held in both hands, raised as if to hack me, but stopped by the dagger pointing at his Adam's apple. His eyes were wide with shock and a touch of amusement.

"You won," he said, stepping back from my dagger point. He sounded almost as if he was in a daze. I leapt up from my splits, wincing when my legs protested from being stretched so much. I vowed to do the splits more often… it _hurt_. **(A/N: I tried that once after like a week or two of not practicing… I was barely able to get that low… and my legs felt weird for like an entire week afterwards --oops--lol)**

"Of course I did!" I muttered offhandedly, suddenly distracted. I felt like something was going to happen and I'll somehow end up back on the ship again, whether I wished it or not. No, not I _felt_ like… I _knew_. "Tell everyone I send my best wishes," I told him, walking away.

--

I stayed in an empty loft on the top floor of a brothel that night…and for seven nights after that. The place was decent, although noises from below kept me up late. The first few days were alright, but I grew more _homesick_ with a particularly bad case of wanderlust as well. I wanted to go back to _Twilight_ – I wanted to be on the seas again, feeling the salty air fan over my face. I became more and more restless in the nights; my dreams often had me waking up long before dawn, though I could never remember what they were.

I remembered them the eighth night. I dreamed that I found the key-bearer, and we unlocked the amulet to reveal the place where the treasure was stored, and that we lived happily ever after. I was never able to picture the face of the man I fell deeply in love with in my dream; I only recalled that he looked faintly like Edward. On our ship, I would stare out into the sea, and he would sneak up and wrap his arms around me. I'd lose most of my protective instincts hearing any sort of approaching footsteps, and lean back into a comforting embrace.

And then the scene changed. My love was no longer there; instead, I was all alone in a ship whose crewmen looked more like zombies or nightmares than mere humans. The evil being – the one who wanted to steal and destroy the amulet – would be there, holding a devilish whip. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I saw myself suddenly choking and collapsing. I saw my image in tattered clothes in the dead of the winter, tortured. I was hung from one of the poles, and the men would methodically pour ice-cold water over me.

The dream would morph between the two possibilities, settling into a loop that played faster and faster until everything became a blur. I woke up long before morning to find myself covered in sweat and to hear three sets of footsteps walking on the roof. The roof beam groaned softly when the sounds disappeared. There was a moment of silence, and a part of the roof fell away, followed by three lumps, landing unceremoniously a few steps away from me.

They were three old men, it appeared, but their face barely had any wrinkles. The few wrinkles, however, were atrocious; there were progressively smaller and smaller wrinkles among the bigger ones, as if all the wrinkles on their body were displayed in that one small area. Their hair had long gone whiter than the purest snow, and their eyes were a cloudy blue color and shimmered with century-old wisdom.

I had my dagger clutched in my hand, but I didn't move, wanting to watch what they would do first. They couldn't see me yet; a big stained-glass mirror leaned against a tall hole-filled cabinet. I could see out at them but they could not see me.

They grunted as they disentangled themselves from the heap they had created. The leader, it seemed, waved his hand, and the roof was partially repaired. He sighed, muttered something about being old and nothing obeying him anymore, and there was suddenly a big pile of thatching plugging the hole. It hung there precariously for a moment, before raining down on the man until only a few wisps of his white hair was showing. I bit my fist to keep from laughing as the other two men quickly dug through the pile.

He was indignant. His eyes were suddenly clearer, and he muttered a few more words. It seemed like whatever he was doing finally worked; the hole in the roof disappeared as if it had never gone there, and the big pile of thatching vanished to wherever it came from. My teeth clamped down on my fingers in my amazement. I had broken the skin. As I nursed my hand, I watched the men from the corner of my eyes.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" one of them asked, picking out a stray straw from the first one's hair.

"Yes," was all the answer he got. The one who spoke was looking directly at the mirror, as if looking through it and staring at me. "And here's the lass."

"Are you sure?" one of them said. "She looks…" he paused, "skinny."

"And yet I'd bet a trunk load of golden nuggets that she'd win you in a fight any day." My hand tightened on my dagger. He turned to me then, walking around the mirror until he stood not two yards from me. "So you are the latest Bearer to our Amulet," he mused. "I haven't met any of the Bearers for the past two centuries."

He took a step closer to me; the amulet around my neck suddenly felt very heavy and hot. I felt like my skin was blistering where it touched my chest. He took another step, and the amulet flared. A few shafts of pale blue light shot out; my blouse was unable to shield it. Slowly, he raised his hand, and the amulet rose, reaching out towards the stretched hand, pulling me with it.

When the rope burned my neck from the strain, I leaned closer; the amulet now rested on his palm. The light it emitted was almost blinding. He whispered some words to it, and the light faded as quickly as it came. He chuckled. "She likes you very much. She finds it amusing."

I struggled to keep my face blank, but he must've seen anyway. "Curiosity killed the cat, lass. You know who I am, somewhere deep down." I wanted to retort that no one remembered the next part of the saying, that satisfaction brought it back. **(A/N: This line taken from Tamora Pierce's ****Trickster's Choice****)** He spoke before I could: "I'm glad of that. She could make your life a living Hell if she doesn't like you. She burned red the last time I saw her, laying the blame on me! Imagine that!"

"Aro," one of the other men warned. Aro cleared his throat.

"As much as I know you love masochism, we have to return you to your _home_." He emphasized the last word as if mocking my thoughts for the past week. I shook my head mutely; I didn't trust myself to speak. "No?" His eyebrows rose. "Sleep, lass. I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter."

I tried to fight against my suddenly-heavy eyelids, but they closed shut, and I was lost to the world in a dreamless sleep.

--Interlude pt 2--

The man was an utter failure! The girl…she didn't even make true to her threats, and he was bent and begging for mercy. Fury… fury that the girl had escaped with the goddamn amulet again. Shame… shame that a _girl_ managed to do that and more without anyone noticing. I was resting in my cabin, waiting for news. Two days passed since I've sent _Jacob_ to the interrogation room with orders. I was an idiot. I underestimated her to the extreme. I had stubbornly waited, thinking that they may lose all progress if the girl recognized me… until a deckhand emotionlessly knocked on the door and told me the news that the sleep bombs had exploded and everyone had fallen asleep; the girl and the other prisoners escaped.

I was lucky my anger did not lash out at the ship. Forty lamps on the ships exploded under my rage; fifteen hands had their bodies broken beyond repair. Victoria was my only solace, although she bore the fiendish marks on her body to remind me always what she had done.

I knew I had to turn to Marilyn. The three old should-have-died wizards will be tracking her. They were not all without power. _I_ was not all without power.

But I had greater luck on my side than I had first anticipated. The ship, _Twilight_, was docked at the port. I sent Victoria in a disguise to scour the ship. She returned, reporting that the ship hands were gone, but the captain and his intimates were talking glumly about setting sail in two days. The girl was not there; the captain seemed to be devoid of all emotions but pain and reluctance. They had been here for exactly a week, and they must set sail the day after the next when final repairs were finished.

I was ecstatic the first time in days. The girl could not have left port; the captain and crew of _Twilight_ had asked favors to check over every corner of every ship that had set sail for her. She must still be in Marilyn. And, though she was harder to track down than any other human I had encountered, she will not escape. I will personally ensure she will not escape the city.

--End interlude pt 2--

When I woke up the next morning, I knew immediately I was on a ship again. The familiar wooden smells and a faint intoxicating scent told me where I was. I was _home_; I was back on the _Twilight_. Not only that, but I was in the Captain's Cabin.

I sat up immediately, feeling a wave of dizziness. How long was I out for? Who were Aro and the other two men? My hand reached for the amulet; it seemed to be shimmering more than usual. I fingered the familiar almost-invisible lock hole.

At that moment, the door slammed open, and I was suddenly met with a pair of shocked green eyes.

_Edward_.

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**If you haven't hugged me by now, I'd understand if you give me a punch or something instead (blushes). I think I just ended up with a cliffy when I know it might take me slightly longer than a month to update due to college apps and stuff. But... if you're still willing to give me a hug (or even provide me with some sort of inspiration on what to write on my college essays), I might update sooner because I'll finish essays faster ))  
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**And again, thanks to all my patient readers and reviewers. You guys' reviews encourage me to finish up all my priority homework faster so I've time to scratch down an outline and type the next chapter up.**

**--Cathy**


	18. Welcome Back

**A/N: I am such a bad author. I promised this update on Thanksgiving, but now, it's 2 days late and so totally not worthy of all that month-or-two of waiting. I suffered a writer's block in the middle of it, and basically stringed together certain things that I wanted to happen with transitions that could make a 4-year-old cry. Talk about phale-tastic :'( . I apologize before hand... but as of right now, I really don't know how to fix it, and I tried rewriting it... but the rewritten version is worse than the original. I think I'll put this story in the cabinet for a week or two and see if I can have better ideas. On the other hand, I've got finals in 2 weeks, and final revisions of college essays due in 4... I'm hoping to get the next chapter out by xmas, but I'll see what I can do.**

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Chapter 17**

"Bella?" he said, his voice barely a whisper. I nodded mutely in reply, suddenly unable to speak. I stared at him as he walked slowly into the room, shutting the door behind him carefully, as if I would run away at the slightest noise. "What are you doing here? I thought you left us."

"I could ask the same question myself," I sighed, slowly getting off the bed. There was three feet between us, but the look he was giving me made me feel like we were one entity. "I don't know how I got here, or why. All I could remember was…" I trailed off. I didn't know whether my tale would be believable. How do I know which parts was a dream and which parts were real? "I-I guess I could leave, if I'm such a nightmare for you…" His eyes were dark with some heavy emotion. But even in the semi-darkness of the room, he was beautiful. I realized with a start that I missed him. I missed everything on this ship, but I missed him more. And here, with him so near me, I found myself _home_ again. I didn't know if I _could_ leave, even if he told me to.

He didn't. As I took a few steps toward the door unwillingly, he shifted so that he was suddenly in front of me. "No," he breathed, "you're not a nightmare." His hand reached hesitantly out to me, brushing away a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "Welcome back." My knees almost gave out under me at his feather-light touch. My skin tingled all over; I smiled at him.

"Thanks," I managed as a blush filled my cheeks. Ducking my head, I ran away from him before I could make a fool of myself.

Things remained a constant blur the next week or so. Days turned into nights as I stayed up in the crow's nest, barely paying attention to the world around me. I knew I was _home_, but a part of me still tried to refuse the fact that I was better off on the ship than without it. I felt… empty, somehow… and tired, although that was not surprising since I had barely slept a wink since I last saw him.

_Him_. Edward. Edward Cullen, my mind corrected, _Captain_ Edward Cullen. I couldn't stop thinking about him, as much as I had tried. The days passed by. I saw him on the balcony above his cabin, his hair blown back by the harsh wind; I saw him when he took a night watch – he never climbed the ropes, no. But he'd sit, leaning on one of the tied-down crates and look outwards. The lantern he brought would flicker and cast a fiery golden shadow in those emerald eyes.

I didn't speak to anyone. Meals were brought up to me by the watchers when they come to take their shifts, but I never went down. Alice and Rosalie tried to call to me. They never climbed the ropes, either; I pretended that I couldn't hear them, and they left me alone. Before dawn, I'd stretch out and swing among the tangled cables near the mast, always ending back at the crow's nest again. I doubt my legs even remember how to walk.

I was not all ignorant of the daily running of the ship, though. I watched the tiny ants of the ship hands move clumsily around the deck, trying to follow Emmett's orders, or practice with blunt swords under Jasper's watchful eyes. This was not a pirate crew. Most of the ship hands had never even held a sword before. More than once, when one of the older ones boasted, I had an urge to throw something down. But I had my show – daily – when I was exercising.

It was during one such exercise that I felt the wind shift. Squinting into the distance, I could make out the blurry shape of a town – a big town. I dropped back into the crow's nest, startling the watcher, Tommy. "Go tell the captain that we're arriving at a port in…" I counted in my head, "five hours." I paused. "And tell him that I am not happy about it."

My voice was hoarse from disuse, but he must have understood. As he scrambled down the mast, I looked around me, finally feeling as if I had awoken from a dream. It was a nice feeling, that. No, more than nice… it was exhilarating. To my own shock, I burst into laughter, dived out of the crow's nest head first. There was a collective gasp as crewmen and ship hands alike saw my impending demise. Forty feet, thirty feet, twenty feet… I sped faster and faster toward my goal. I heard a shout: "Bella! No!" but I had already caught to the cable end I dove for. Catching the very end of the dangling rope, I swung myself upward, somersaulting, feeling the wind blowing around me, knowing I could die a very gruesome death if I missed my aim, but couldn't care less about it.

The timing was perfect. I hit the taut ropes with my toes, using the brief second that I had stopped to catch another dangling one. The force was just enough to wrap around the top of the main mast just under the crow's nest. It spun around like the wildest carousel, and when I reached the end of the rope, I let go and dropped the rest of the ten feet to the ground. There was a complete moment of stunned silence as I held my balance, and then relieved laughter as they saw that I was alright.

Edward was in front of me then, his hands tracing down my arms and up, cupping my face, as if trying to assure him that I was still alive. I tried to bite him playfully when his thumbs were rubbing soothingly over my eyelids. He chuckled. "Don't ever do that again," he said seriously, his hands holding my head so that I was forced to look at him. "If you had missed… if you had…" He couldn't bring himself to say the word.

His words, though, went in one ear and out the other. "That was exhilarating," I gushed, smiling widely. "The most perfect timing I've ever had. The fall, the swing, the whoosh!" I twirled, breaking from his hold.

He caught me again, when I fell, intoxicated. Setting me on my feet again, he kept one hand on my waist and the other to my forehead. "Are you okay?"

I slapped his hand away. "Of course I'm okay! I'm _alive_! I _feel_ alive! I feel like I could do anything in the world!" I tried to spin, but lost my balance again. He caught me. And suddenly he seemed to be so close. "Can't you feel it?" I asked, breathless.

"Yes," he responded, equally breathless. "I think I can."

And then he was kissing me… His kisses were like a drug I never knew I was addicted to. My legs turned to jelly – he was supporting all of my weight now. I thought I saw stars.

And just as quickly as it started, he pulled away, breathing heavily, his face flushed. Someone wolf-whistled.

"I'm alive," Edward said, his voice with such wonder that I laughed.

"I'm not that scary, am I?"

"No, you aren't scary at all. It's that dagger of yours that brings fear to all who had an intimate contact with it." I punched him in the chest. He feigned hurt. "You have a sick humor," he said.

"And you are a masochist who's asking for it," I replied, holding the urge to stick out my tongue at him. "How long are we docking for?"

"What if I told you we aren't docking?"

"I'd say you're lying through your teeth. Although, I do wonder why you're docking so soon."

"It's either we raid a ship or we let most of these ship hands go… or do you have a better way to get money?"

"I thought you're a pirate. Go raid another ship!"

"In case you haven't noticed, this _particular_ pirate ship does not have your typical pirates. You think I'd want these men to fight?"

I snorted, realizing the humor in this situation. I could single handedly defeat a great majority of the shiphands on deck. None of them were fighters. They were a lot of hasty recruits looking for an escape or adventure. Heck, none of them were even moderately seasoned! Most had only the barest minimal knowledge of how to run a ship and what to do with a sword or club.

"Which port?"

"Twilight Bay." He winced as he said the name.

"You don't want to go there."

"I had some… unfinished business… that I would rather avoid." I looked at him skeptically, but chose to not push. He'd tell me on his own when he felt he was ready. I nodded to him, telling him that I needed to get ready for the docking.

In truth, I needed to get away from him. I could still feel the warmth from his body, still smell that intoxicatingly male scent. I was in denial. I was falling in love with that captain, so suddenly, so quickly, that it left my mind reeling. I never thought of children, but the past few days of solitude and observation had me dreaming about small green-eyed, bronze-haired little boys who called me their mother. I flushed deep red at the thought…

I shook my head. _Twilight Bay_… how come that name sounded so familiar?

---

Twilight Bay was really a number of small fisher towns that had grown together over the years. There were no mayors or any governing official of the city. On almost all the maps, the Bay was surrounded by the dots marking those fisher towns, usually consisted of three or four families per town – too small to be noticed. In fact, the King and the kings before him never sent anyone to look at the growth of these towns.

True, though, that these towns never grew by much. When one town grew beyond five or six families, it split into two. A few hundred years passed, and instead of just Northinham, Potsand, Meod, Lodesin, and Octivaus, there was North Northinham, Middle Northinham, South Potsand, West Octivaus, Lodevaus, and every other name in between. However, it was only during the trading season that one could actually tell the difference between the towns. It made the Bay into a busy town filled with bazaars, marketplaces, and food, but each town had a different 'flavor'. But the trading season had passed, leaving the town to its one thousand residents and quiet lives.

The local taverns were only quarter-full, filled with straggling or late traders and the occasional quester and traveler. The loudest sounds were often made by the street rats when they found a valuable coin or a piece of cloth that lay forgotten in the haste following the end of the season.

Winter had nearly come. The sea kept the villages warm and devoid of snow, but could not battle the cold that rolled down the distant mountains. Fishermen tried to haul in the last bit of fish in case their provisions would not last through the winter storms. Yes, when winter settles in, the sea becomes angry. Those brave enough to test the waters, more often than not, never return alive. One moment she could be calm and seductive, the next moment she churns up a storm that frothed and destroyed everything in its way.

Not many big ships dock in the Bay, although the waters were deep enough to house even the largest of all ships.

News traveled fast in such a small 'town'. I was not surprised to see the docks lined with eager people, either looking for work or admiring the rarity of an actual ship. As soon as the plank was set, people started streaming aboard. Most left the moment the plank is free again, but some stayed to admire just a little bit longer. Perhaps, if they showed interest, they'll be adventuring.

There will be no seasoned fighters to be found in such a small town. I knew this, and, from the grim set of Edward's mouth, he knew it, too.

"Twilight Bay, eh?" I asked Emmett, who was watching a few girls with narrowed eyes. "If Edward wants to wring some money from this town, it'd be like wringing a coin from a beggar's pocket. I can't even hope to turn him into a magistrate for reward money!"

Emmett looked surprised for a moment, and then burst into laughter. "Good grief!" he gasped between chuckles. "If Edward heard that, he'd have your hide!" He apparently found his words funny. Clapping my back with such strength it knocked the breath out of me, he tried again. "And poor Edward! You'd probably have him flat on his back before he even knew what happened!"

I laughed dryly. If Edward was smart, he could easily distract me. If Edward wanted to, he could probably tell me to feed myself to a shark, and I'd gladly do it.

"Who is she?!" a voice shrieked from nowhere. I started, spun around, to meet the furious gaze of a red-haired woman.

"Irina…" Emmett tried to soothe. I tugged on Emmett's sleeve.

"Who's she?"

"Edward's unfinished business," he whispered back.

She glared at me, approaching. "Why are you here? And where is Edward?"

"Am I not allowed to sail on a ship?" I snapped back.

"Not on Edward's ship, you don't!"

"What right do you have to say that?"

"I am his fiancée."

"You lie!" I started. That was not my voice. I spun around. Edward was coming out of his cabin, looking furious and edgy. "I said we're _over_, Irina. I said we were over as soon as I found out you tried to scheme with Tanya. You are a liar! And Bella's more help to me than you and your sister ever was."

"How's _she_ help to anyone? She looks like a boiled pudding."

I started. _No one_ called me a boiled pudding. I smiled sweetly, staring hard at her. "Hey, sweetie-pie. Go on being so nice about me and I might have to thank you."

"What? I wasn't being nice to you. And don't call me sweetie-pie."

"But you have _such_ sweet lips. And such big eyes. And such a lot of… hair."

"Listen, pudding," I fingered my dagger at her nickname for me. "You touch him," she pointed to Edward, "you die."

"Oh really?" I asked. I reached out and touched Edward on the shoulder. She flew at me the next second. She punched, I blocked. She kicked, I voided. When she drew a weapon, I grabbed her wrist, and performed a riposte so that the dagger was against her throat. I let go of her and smacked her on the head.

She was speechless. Emmett howled with laughter. Irina glared at me, made as if to attack again. I tensed slightly, but Edward caught my shoulder. He walked over to her and whispered in her ear. He was stern, she was tearful. When he finished, there was a moment of silence, and then… _SMACK_. She slapped him.

I tensed again. Emmett caught me. He pushed Edward away and started whispering with a wicked glint in his eye. Moments later, they burst into laughter, and Irina happily skipped off the ship.

"Edward, my man!" he proclaimed. "You have _much_ to learn about the world of women."

"What did you do to make her go away?" Edward mused, rubbing the side of his head where it was beginning to turn a dark shade of red.

"I told her that Bella, here, smacks everyone. We agreed that you," he said to me, "are a vicious witch."

"Thanks." I replied dryly.

"And plain… and flat-chested… and that Edward could not possibly fall in love with you over her."

"Enough!" I said, as Edward choked, looked at Emmett with a look of disbelief. I smacked Emmett again; his head bobbed under the pressure.

Rubbing where I hit him, he mumbled, "I only said it to make her go away! You smack too hard for your own good."

I smirked. "It's called self-defense." Looking at Edward, I told him, "Looks like your 'unfinished business' is still unfinished." Laughing, I walked away from him.

Three days, we will stay a total of three days. That was not very long at all. Then why do I have the feeling that everything will go uphill from here? Why do I have the hair on the back of my neck standing up, as if the end was coming near?

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**See? What did I tell you? It's quite bad. All I can say is that I hope the next one is much, much better (and less fail-tastic) than this one.**

**--Cathy  
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	19. Twilight Dances

**A/N: So... the long-awaited 18th chapter now arrives. I like this one better than the last one, although I think there's some parts in here that might need clarification later on.**

**So... Basically, this is another more-fluff-than-anything... but I felt the need to write it and I thought it progressed well into the beginning of the finale. I'm also quite proud of how long this chapter is. Longest chapter yet! lol... never thought I'd have the patience to do this. Anyways... enjoy**

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Chapter 18**

"_We_ are going shopping," claimed Alice as she burst into my room without preamble. Before I could process the meaning of what she said, I was dragged haphazardly out the door and immediately tied up with rope by a grinning Rosalie.

"Why am I being tied?" I looked down. The rope wrapped itself five times around my forearms and was tied into a tight knot at my back. "What's with the rope?"

"We figured that if we tied your hands and hold the knot fast enough, you might not be able to escape until it's too late," said a sheepish Rosalie as Alice led the way up the ladder. I was only able to climb that ladder because Rose supported most of my weight. When we were out into the mid-morning sunshine, Alice stopped and smirked. "Maybe our idea's working, Rose!"

I looked at her oddly, raising an eyebrow. "Oops," I told her. I walked a few more steps, following her. The rope was magically unraveling itself from me until it hung uselessly in Rosalie's palm. "You guys aren't fast enough."

I leaped across the gangplank onto dry land, suddenly feeling dizzy. It felt as if the very floor moved. They took my moment of disorientation to sandwich me in between them. Alice laughed. "And here we thought we got you, for once!"

Rosalie huffed as she walked, dragging me along. "You just can't at least _pretend_ to be tied up so we can celebrate for that much longer?"

"Oops."

We were out of the dock yard. They had a tight hold of me, clutching my arms so tightly that I was afraid I would end up with no arms by the end of the day. I sighed. My arms were going to fall asleep so badly.

Distracting myself, I asked them, "Why are we shopping? And where? I thought the trading season was long over."

"There is a reason why Twilight Bay is one of our favorite shops – a reason why Edward never passed this place up even though we almost always miss the trading season." Alice nodded, smiling widely. "Most of our family grew up here. Emmett was a cabin boy native to this port six or seven years ago, and Edward grew up in the dock yard, too. Rose's grandmother lived here, and she stayed every other year between trading seasons in town."

We were nearing the edge of one town, where a small dress shop stood. It was nameless, but dresses were displayed in its windows – lace-layered dresses, dresses that parted to reveal shimmering petticoats, old dresses, new dresses, everyday-dresses… every kind of dress that was imaginable to me. I looked on in helpless horror as the shop approached closer and closer…

"I lived with Edward." I started. I had forgotten Alice was still telling me her history. "The Cullens adopted me as a child. A few years ago, one of the big trader families, the Whitlocks, brought their son with to learn the ways. Jasper never returned with his father."

The words went in one ear and out the other. The bell chimed obnoxiously when Rosalie pushed the door open. I tensed, feeling the urge to bolt. "Relax. The more you cooperate with us, the faster you'll get out of here."

I felt the blood drain from my face. They weren't being serious! Why buy me a dress all of a sudden? What was wrong with my shirt and trousers? I was comfy in them! Dresses trip me to no end. I scanned some of the items on display and gulped. Slippers. Not only that, but slippers with heels, slippers whose soles are so thin they were almost transparent, slippers with lace ribbons designed to wrap around the thighs… those are for seduction of males… their hands could travel up, up, up … I shuddered, horrified that I almost pictured Edward doing exactly that. **(A/N: I felt so dirty writing that)**

And then we were passing the corsets. I swallowed audibly. Alice giggled. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"More like I saw my own death! How is _anyone_ supposed to breathe in those things?"

The shop keeper came out at my distressed moans. She was a short little woman, her face lined with small wrinkles to hint her age. She smiled upon seeing Alice and Rosalie. "My dears! You've stopped by the port again. I received your note, and I think I have just the thing." Her eyes fell on me. The smile vanished from her eyes. "I do see what you mean. She is _quite_ a mess. Not to worry, not to worry. Gracie will fix her right up!"

I gaped at her. I was definitely not a mess. I was comfortable and casual… and most of all, free. I was prepared to bolt, but Alice had seen my expression. She skipped over to my side, all natural and giddy… if not for the death glare she gave me. I gulped again. She was quite threatening when she wanted to be.

Swearing under my breath, I allowed myself to be dragged to a dressing room in the back and tossed in. "This door locks on the outside, Bella! And don't you even try climbing out of there. Rose here shall knock you out with a pot!"

I panicked. The three walls seemed to close around me when I noticed that the door was locked and the only way out without kicking open the door was through the space between the top of the door and the ceiling. How were there no lock bolts on this side…?

I started. _Of course!_ Leaning on the door heavily, I reached for the hook that was hidden neatly in my mess of hair. On a whim, I decided that I should take all of my hair-hidden picks out. I had a feeling that Alice would not have spent so much trouble just for me to get a dress or two. No, they were going all-out.

The moment I had the last pick out, the door opened, causing me to stumble backward. Someone – I assumed to be Rosalie – caught me while a big pile of dresses and whatnot were thrown into my arms. Before I knew what had happened, I heard the click of the lock on the other side and sighed. Unless I decided to kill someone or break something, I would not be getting out of here.

An impatient voice shrieked outside, as if in agreement with me: "Hurry up, Bella! I want to see that red dress _pronto_!"

What red dress? Dumping the pile of lacy, velvety fabric on the ground, my eyes dropped upon the a red velvet ankle-length gown. The sleeves were flowing, and the front skirt parted to reveal a gold underskirt beneath. The neckline, however, was square-cut and dipped too low for my comfort. "Bella?" came the call. I hurried up and undressed.

"Alice?" I questioned uncertainly. "What am I supposed to wear beneath this?"

"Don't worry about that now, just come out already!" **(A/N: pictures in profile page)**

I groaned, dragging the dress over my head and tying up the laces behind. It was way too long; the neckline dipped so low that my bandages were seen – bandages that wrap my chest flat against me so I could blend in more. Grudgingly, I opened the door.

Alice gasped. "Take those ugly white things off! They do not make you look very womanly." Before I could do it though, there was a rip, and the long strip of cloth was taken away. "But…"

"No buts, Bella. If you want to wear shirts ever again, we will get rid of those bandages once and for all." Her eyes narrowed at me when I attempted to cover my chest from her view. "What now?"

"Neckline's too low… I don't think my chest will stay…" I mumbled as I let her see. She gasped and pushed me back into the room, but not before she grabbed all the dresses I'd yet to try. The door was banged shut and locked. With a hurried order to undress, she practically sprinted away, shouting for Gracie's name.

Not even two minutes later, she came back with more dresses. "The dark blue one," she said, and left me.

This one felt much better. The skirt was wide enough that I could not trip while walking across flat ground, but I suspected that going up and down stairs would be an entirely different problem. A sprinkle of stars glittered in the dim light. It was like wearing a walking night sky.

Alice and Rosalie were both outside this time. They scanned me up and down once before saying simultaneously, "Next!"

"Pink, please!" Rose added.

I grumbled my protest as I slipped off the dark gown and donned on the lighter pink one. There were no mirrors in the dressing room, but I knew I always had looked bad in pink. The dress wasn't that bad. I just knew I looked particularly bad in it.

My critics were in concurrence with my knowledge. I'd barely stepped out before they'd both said, "Next!"

The last dress was spectacular. It was in three layers: the top layer was a thin purple lace veil that made the sky-blue skirt beneath glow. It parted in the middle to reveal a midnight blue petticoat with a train. I loved it. The lacey sleeves glittered a pale blue color. I felt like I was dressed as that night in Sarijam festival, only better.

I stepped out of the dressing room when the door unlocked itself. Wringing my hands nervously, I shifted on my feet while waiting for the verdict. Alice was moody. Her eyes were glittering brightly, but her tiny mouth was set in a frown. Rose looked extremely happy.

"This is the dress," Rose proclaimed. We'll need accessories for it, though. I think I've got just the things."

As she dragged Alice to me and made to grab me, I stepped out of her reach, my dress whispered in my wake. I shook my head. "I am not going to move from here until you tell me what this dress and all this shopping is for."

"The Cullen Estate in Forks, Twilight Bay holds a dinner party every time Edward and I stop by to visit from our adventures. It only takes one day to set up. Enough people know of our schedules to warn others plenty in advance. Tonight is our dinner," Alice said simply. She was hiding something from me. I knew. And from the warning look in her eyes, she knew I knew, too. Before I could ponder upon it, though, I was ferreted away, suffering one of the most gruesome and miserable make-over sessions I had ever the misfortune to endure.

--Interlude: 8 hours later--

The clock tolled eight. His sisters were exactly thirty minutes late. But as the last ring of the hour faded, they appeared. The ball was masked, but there was no doubt on his mind who the three ladies that appeared at the top of the stairs were. Edward felt his mouth suddenly dry at the sight of Bella. Her dress was simple – a deeper blue dress covered in a pale blue veil with complicated embroidering that shimmered in the magnificent light from the chandeliers. And yet, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the ballroom.

He was reminded of the last time he saw her in a dress. Port Sarijam festival. She was breathtakingly beautiful even then, but he had not known her.

He stood on the far side of the ballroom, utterly mesmerized by their slow descent into the general crowd. The spotlight was on them; even the musicians paused in mid-note to ponder curiously who the three women were.

Correction. Who the woman in the center was. The whole town could recognize Rosalie and Alice at a glance, but this would be Bella's first appearance. And she was stunning. At that moment, Edward felt jealousy rise within him. He almost wanted to blind the lusty eyes of every man ogling at his Bella. He never knew how or when he fell in love with the prickly porcupine, the key to his heart. He chuckled. How aptly her nickname fits! Realizing the turn of his thoughts, he flushed. Bella – Key – could never truly belong to anyone. And anyone who tried to do so would be in for a hell of a lot of wounds to nurse.

"She is wondrous, isn't she?" a weary voice asked, startling him. He spun around to meet face-to-face with a tall gypsy man. "Ranslaw Ches, at your service," the man said, as if anticipating Edward's next question. **(A/N: Cookie for whoever can guess who Ranslaw really is :D)**

"Yes," he answered. The old man's gaze was too calculated to not notice a lie if he told one. The crinkled eyes were stunningly hazel and warm…and familiar. But then his view of them was replaced by graying and thinning hair. Ranslaw stared at Bella with a fond, almost paternal, gaze.

"She carries a heavy burden. It weighs upon her. Her father worries that the burden will destroy her," Ranslaw continued, his gaze never wavering from Bella. "She is the key to his heart…" he paused, turning to give Edward a deep scorching look. "She obviously became a key to your heart as well."

Both men paused, as Bella arrived at the last step, immediately engulfed in numerous conversations and requests for dances. She neatly sidestepped the comments with a grace that astounded Edward. He felt his feet drift, but was hindered by a steely grip. It was Ranslaw.

"Listen, young man," he said, wheezing. "I will probably never be able to speak to you again. Bella is a treasure for more reasons than just the amulet around her neck. The only way you'll get access to that amulet, though, is to hold her heart the same way she unknowingly holds yours. Be warned, that I will be watching. If you dare hurt her, ghost or man, I will come to haunt you for the rest of your life." He paused. "I have watched over her and you. Your hidden enemy cannot be defeated by ordinary measures. The only way to stop the danger is to drive a stake – anything – into their hearts. This makes them mortal. Tear them apart in this state and burn them. It is the _only _way to destroy them now. I wish you the best of luck. Protect her well, young Edward!"

Edward was reeling, but before he could ask any questions, Ranslaw let go and, chuckling heartily, disappeared in the crowd as if he was never here in the first place.

He stood still for one long second, distracted. His eyes caught Bella, fending off another unwonted hand. Smiling and unable to break the magnetic hold she had over him, Edward set off in her direction, hoping against all hope that one day she will offer her heart just as willingly as he would offer his.

--End Interlude--

"I can't dance," I repeated for yet the hundredth time, withdrawing my hand from yet another man's. I sighed. I swear, I shall never go to another 'dinner party' again.

Even in such a crowded place, I felt eyes on me. I was suffocating from all the attention I received, from all the bodies pressed around me. I longed to be on the sea again, feeling the fresh sea breeze blowing my hair away.

I knew I was watched, followed. Every step I took in this hall was observed by several hundred eyes. One pair in particular bore into my back. I tried to lose the feeling, zigzagging through the crowd, even doubling back, but the feeling never vanished. I was about to dart for cover – to be finally alone, when I collided with a hard wall. Strong arms wrapped around me to stop me from falling over. But I was frantic. When my 'wall' didn't let me go, I grabbed his hand and pulled him with me, sprinting down the nearest corridor I could find. Turning so abruptly that my captive was hard-put to keep up, I ran until I could no longer feel trapped anymore. Stopping, I took in my surroundings, and pulled the stranger with me into a small alcove.

He made to speak, but I silenced him with a finger. In the sudden quiet, I heard faint footsteps hustle closer and closer…and they faded away. I sighed with relief. "He's been following me ever since I stepped on the dance floor," I said, stepping out. "I'm sorry for that run. It's just…" I shrugged helplessly. The stranger coughed. I recognized him immediately.

"I would just prefer a warning next time you wish to drag me running for three miles in my own house," Edward said, catching his breath at last.

"If you had just let me go, I would've ran by myself." I anticipated his argument. Before he could speak, I turned and poked his chest. "And believe me, the going would've been _much_ easier without having to drag your weight around." He harrumphed indignantly at my words, but said nothing in reply.

We started heading back toward the ballroom when he paused. "Do you really want to go back to that dungeon of a hole?" I shook my head, raising an eyebrow at him. "Do you trust me?"

I stared hard at him, at his proffered hand. And I put my hand in his, feeling a spark pass between us. "Yes," I answered simply, unable to hold back a happy smile. He smiled back.

He led me through countless corridors and hallways until we reached a dead end. The light was dim, but I glared at him nonetheless. He led me to a… Before I could finish the thought, he pushed on the wall, revealing a set of spiraling stairs. I felt the wind blowing through. His hold on my hand tightened, and we ascended the stairs together.

The stairs led to a wide terrace. Potted orange trees dotted the space. Here and there, patches of grass softened the cold stony feel. I stared at it in wonder.

"Look up," Edward commanded. I did, and gasped. The entire terrace was covered with a glass dome that kept out the worst of the weather. The moon shone brightly, its light scattered by the glass until it looked like a thousand stars were sparkling.

In the silence, the soft music of the orchestra floated around. "This is above the ballroom?" He nodded.

"Would the lady wish to bestow me a dance?" he asked with a sweeping bow. I scowled at him.

"Are you trying to be funny?" He laughed, no.

"Do you trust me?" He repeated the question he asked before. I eyed him curiously, hesitatingly nodded again.

He took no time. Warm hands clasped around my waist, lifting me up effortlessly until my feet were on his. It brought us so much closer; I bit back the gasp at feeling the warmth radiating from him. All settled, he began moving, humming along to the orchestra playing below. I relaxed as his humming vibrated through the both of us. I dropped my head to his chest, hearing his heart beat fleetingly fast; feeling my own heart catching his rhythm and following it. I giggled. He stopped his humming to gaze curiously at me.

I placed my hand right above his heart, feeling his heart beat flutter. "You're nervous."

He let out a deep breath. "I'm only afraid my sisters did not sufficiently remove all your dangerous accessories and I shall die a gruesome death."

"Do you trust me?" I fired his question back. He laughed. Without breaking our dance, he bent his head and whispered in my ear, "With my life." I tensed and he chuckled, the deep sound trilling through me.

He let me go, twirling me once before bringing me close to him again. "You shouldn't trust me," I told him, letting him lead me in this dance.

"Why not?"

"Because I have enemies. My self-preservation comes before preservation of others."

"So you're saying you would betray me in order to stay safe?" I gritted my teeth. _No_, I wanted to say, _I will never betray you because I love you_. Instead, I nodded.

"There's two people who seeks for my amulet, not for the legendary riches, but for the legendary power it holds." I let Edward twirl me again, but I knew I had all his attention. "James and Victoria are not the normal kind of power-seekers. They want to destroy it. By lore, to destroy the amulet is to destroy the Gate that holds back the very demons which plagued this land hundreds of years ago."

"And I am assuming that James and Victoria are not particularly _human_, either," Edward supplied. I nodded.

We stopped, staring at each other.

"I don't know how to throw them off my trail. I don't know how to escape alive…" I didn't know why I was spilling my deepest fears to him. Perhaps it was because of the orange trees. Perhaps the dancing had something to do with it. Or perhaps I finally learned to truly trust someone. All I knew, as Edward claimed my lips in a searing kiss, was that somehow, we will make it through this alive. Somehow, like fairytales, we will get our own happily ever after.

And that was when the screaming started. **(A/N: spent half an hour trying to convince myself that it's mean to stop here… but finally I succeeded :D)**

Both our hands snapped toward the stairs. With one look of surprise, we sprinted for the spiraling staircase. At that moment, I cursed Alice to the depths of the ocean for taking away all my daggers and pins.

As we sprinted down countless corridors, Edward leading the way, I shouted to him, "Do you have a spare dagger? Knife? Anything usefully protective?"

"Do I look as if I carry anything but this ornamental sword that came with my costume?" he bit back, obviously as frustrated as I was. "I thought you always carry a weapon around!"

"I do! If not Alice had run an up and down search and gave me an entire new outfit!" As we neared the screams, I grabbed Edward to a sudden halt. He was about to say complain, when I shushed him. "I spy a sword."

Practically jumping with joy, I wrenched a sword out of the hands of a suit of armor. I swung it around, smiling widely at the sound it made. It was a good sword. "Catch!" I tossed the sword to him. He caught it with a bounce and a roll. I drew another sword from another suit of armor further down the hall. It rang nicely.

"On guard!" I called out, whirling my sword at Edward. He deflected it, parried three times. _Cling, cling, cling_. Smirking, I feinted to the left and struck to the right. My fingers wound around his wrist. His sword dropped to the ground uselessly; mine found its way to his neck. He chuckled.

"Nice of you to play in a time like this." My world suddenly crashed. The screaming returned to my ears. It was not as great in volume anymore.

We rushed into a ballroom of torn cloths and sword fighting. Men dressed in completely black clothing flowed to and from the shadows. In all the commotion, we were separated. I was on my tenth kill when I realized I was being herded. I had backed myself in a niche and was too surrounded by those black killers to do anything remotely helpful.

Everywhere there was fighting going on. At that moment, I cursed myself for wearing a dress. Many-a-time I found myself tripping over, barely able to save my head when others stepped on the hem… or when I tripped over the hem. _Block, block, strike, gag; block, block, strike, gag_. The same routine repeated over and over again. I forced myself into the crowd surrounding me, dodging hits as best I could while keeping my head over the pungent smells of blood. I tripped countless times running blindly down the vast mansion they call the Forks Cullen House.

The last thing I knew as I blacked out was that I was fortunate my amulet was not hanging around my neck.

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**I forgot which parts might need clarification... it's 51 minutes into christmas day, and I'm a little out of it. If you need any clarifications, though, I'll be happy to give it in a review reply (provided you sign your review).**

**Last thing: In my profile page is a poll on what you want my next story to be. Although this story is not done yet, it is nearing that point, and I want to give my readers (YOU!) plenty of time to decide which of the three plots I've inspirations for best interests them. If you've ideas/etc on the plots of any of the three summaries I gave, I'll also be willing to receive those in a pm or review, whichever suits best.**

**Happy Xmas to You All!**

**--Cathy**


	20. Escaping

**A/N: Heya all. I've said goodbye to my college applications and wished them the best of luck (finally!). I'm hoping to start updating at least biweekly, if not weekly, but with 2nd semester just starting, I want to see how hard my classes are, how much work I should be putting into them, etc, before I give you a distinct timeline.**

**Anyways... I was thinking of a lot happening in this chapter, but then there was a certain change of plans mid-way through, and so not much happened at all. The song in this chapter is from one of my favorite movies "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" called Kimi wo Nosete. There's a link to the song on profile. I do recommend you guys listening to it. Ever since I re-watched the movie, my brothers and I are addicted to it. But enough of my rambling. Here's the chapter.  
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Chapter 19**

My head pounded. Every single heartbeat only worsened it. _Bang, bang, bang_. I tried to move myself into a better position, but my hands were tied behind me, and ropes held my shoulders immobile. My feet were also tied around the ankles. I tried to wriggle my toes. I rush of sensation came from my legs, as if a thousand needles were piercing them. As that pain subsided, I wriggled my fingers, too, enduring yet another thousand needles' piercings.

I opened my bleary eyes. I was tied to a ring in the corner of a small, dark room, with a small leash so I could hop around. There were no windows, save for a small slit in the middle of the wall on the far side. The room was circular; the only door was steel-enhanced and opened three feet above the floor of the sleek cell. It was designed so that lock-pickers of my kind had no slightest chance of slipping through.

There were noises on the other side of the door. It sounded like a feast was in order. Figuring my jailers would be too drunk to check in on me, I set about untying myself from the terrible ropes.

Two minutes later, I was free, rubbing more blood back into my hands and feet. I instinctively reached for my necklace, but nothing was there. I remembered what Alice had said: she ordered me to switch my amulet with hers. To my surprise, hers was an exact replica of mine, albeit a little bigger and without a keyhole in the back. When I questioned her, though, she only said that this would keep it safe. I believed her. I had enough doubts about having a dinner party.

And now her necklace was gone.

I wondered if Alice had a much powerful foresight than I had. How could she have known exactly what was wanted? Shaking my head of thoughts, I put my ear by the tiny crevice between the door and the ground, and listened.

"_Sir James has what he wanted, and I'm sure our dear Miss Irina got her reward as well."_

"_Ahhh, Irina. I missed her. She sated me well."_

"_As she did us all. I heard she gotta bag o'gold from Master James fer her services in capturing that wench in there."_

"_Aye. I dinna know why the knight would want the necklace of that wench, though, or why keep her alive afterwards. He usually let us have our ways as rewards."_

"_And now we dun get any. 'She's to be properly locked up and taken cared for.'"_

"_And we'll take care of her well, won't we?"_ I heard the sneer in the voice. I trembled. As much as I worked in a men's environment, I remained untouched by them. But I don't have a thing to protect me… _"I dun see why we should leave her there all lonely, when she could be in such better bliss!"_

"_She should be unconscious. She was knocked out cold. I dun see how she could wake up so soon. Victoria came and fed her that potion, too."_

"_Then I shall enjoy myself before pleasin' her!"_

There were cheers at his words, as heavy footsteps came.

The next moment, keys rattled. My mind started racing. What was here I could use? I had no weapon. There were no usable weapons in this room. The jailer, obviously drunk, fumbled with the keys and the lock. I heard him cursing the dim light. In my desperation, I started patting myself down, in hopes I would find something – anything I could use in my defense. All I came up with was a small ladies fan tucked into the ribbons of my shredded dress.

Clutching it as my only defense, I sat down on top of the ropes by the ring, pretending I was still tied u. Locks, I tell you; I counted seven in total. The door swung wide, letting a flood of light wash over the small room. His shadow, however, saved my night vision. I glared at him as he smiled. "So the wench is awake!"

I grimaced as a thundering of footsteps rang behind him. He was shoved out of the way as five more replaced his spot. They were all drunk; red eyes and drooping heads told me that much. An idea flashed through my mind. Before I could think, it was already acted upon by the others.

"Ahh, she's a bonny lass."

"Too bonny," said another who was pushing his way to the front. "And too tiny."

"Not enough meat for even two of us." There's a pause. That man stared directly at me. "You're a lucky one, gal! You get a share of all of us!" But his eyes hardened again. "We'd have to take turns," he slurred.

I was about to encourage the notion, but it was not needed. The men seemed to reach a consensus on that observation. "I get her first! I'm the one who realized her awakeness first!"

He was quickly shoved down. "You first my donkey! I'm boss 'round here!"

"Since when were you boss, boss?" yelled another. "Besides, bein' boss gives no special treatment 'ere. We're ones who caught 'er."

The 'boss' threw a well-aimed punch into his gut. The man roared in fury and threw a punch back, but missed and hit another. Precisely four seconds later, the men were reduced to a brawling bunch near the doorway. Seizing my chance, I held tightly to my fan, carefully stepped around the bunch, and ran. I made five steps before they noticed that I was gone. Panic caught me full blast. A rush of energy sizzled through me as I blindly ran down the twisting hallways of the prison, relying on pure instinct to get me out.

Just as I smelled the fresh air of the outside world, one of the men appeared in front of me. Grinning.

I skidded to a halt. "You don't get to go that easily, pretty girl. I can give ya a tumble before the others catch up. Whadya think?" He walked towards me on precarious balance. When he was arm's reach away, though, I made a swipe at him, but missed. He laughed at my pitiful attempt, but managed to back me against a wall. His arms came around me, bracing themselves against the stones. My mind was too fuzzy.

Instinct saved me again. As he lowered his fowl-smelling head for a kiss, I brought my knee up in a quick jerk. He backed away immediately, his hands pushed away from the wall to protect his precious. Before they got there, however, I aimed another kick. This time, he crumpled to the ground, whimpering. For once glad of small, hard heels, I stomped on his foot to distract him as I snatched away his sword. Feeling more confident, I whirled around to face one more man blocking my path. I cursed.

"You should drop that down before you hurt yourself," he said snidely.

"The only thing I'd hurt is you," I snapped back.

He lunged at me. I merely stepped to the side and stuck out my foot. He fell over like a sack of potatoes. Not even waiting to hear his curse, I sped out the open doorway. It was nearly dark outside… or was it early morning? I did not know, nor did I care. I sprinted for the stable on the far side of the yard, hopped on the nearest horse. Surprisingly, with a few well-chosen words, the horse ran into towards the sun, heading for the forest. I looked back, looking at the angry, drunken jailers yelling loudly at each other as the scene was blocked by the forest.

I rode on, not caring where or how. The sun was descending into the horizon. Nighttime was arriving. At that particular moment, I wanted to laugh at the idiocy of my jailers. They got drunk in the afternoon?

But as the light dimmed, branches were harder to avoid. The horse lost its rhythm more times than I could count, stepping in unexpected holes or tripping over gnarled roots. In the dark, the forest was frightening. I curled beside the horse, dropping into an uneasy sleep.

When morning light finally broke through the foliage, I was already on my way again. Hungry and weary, I urged on. James. Victoria. They were my shadows – dark creatures who I could not shake off my trail, who sought the amulet with all their soulless power.

I remembered Jacob. Only, he was not _my_ Jacob anymore. I could not, however, conceive of how Irina fitted into the picture.

I was so distracted by my thoughts that when I burst out of the dense forest, it shook me. Spying a far-off trail, I urged the horse toward it, setting a steady pace.

Four days on the trail and I was still in wooded grasslands. I was lucky that the road ran alongside a stream. The only food I had for days were wild berries and a badly-roasted rabbit. I never knew hairpins could be so deadly as to kill a rabbit if aimed properly.

The fifth day, two riders came up the road. I led the horse off into the trees to avoid them, but when they were closer, I recognized them. Alice and Jasper.

Completely surprised, I ran to the middle of the road, barely avoiding death from the startled horses.

"Bella?" Alice inquired. I nodded. She hopped off her horse and embraced me. "Oh, we were so worried! I only came this way because I had a feeling I'd meet you here, but almost six days since that night, and I was second-guessing myself every hill we rode over," she sobbed. She looked me over. "Oh goodness! Aren't you a mess?" I laughed with her. She gave me a change of clothes as I bathed in the chilly stream, and some traveler's bread. We rode back to Twilight Bay as fast as the horses could take us, while Alice and Jasper filled me in on what had happened.

Irina was gone the night of the ball, and appeared two days later in more fancy dresses than she ever had the money to own. The first thing she did was to call on Edward. She brought her entire suitcase of clothes with her to the mansion and immediately threw herself onto him. He was already stricken with grief and guilt at that point, but under prodding from Alice, reluctantly agreed to show some emotion. It was then, during one of her drunken stupors of euphoria, that Irina revealed her hand in this case. Edward had wanted to come himself, but was stopped by Alice, who had known I was going to be fine. Besides, he was unable to eat or drink anything the first two days I was gone, and therefore unfit to travel long distances. I felt my heart twinge as Jasper told me that.

When we arrived at the mansion days later, the place looked almost ghastly. Irina was sobbing desperately at the foot of the building, begging and pleading. Her eyes were skyward, looking towards a particular window. I gasped. There stood Edward, in all his glory, frowning at Irina as if confused why she was there. Not saying a word, I ran blindly into the house, passing by endless balconies. I had a sick feeling that if I don't find him soon, he will leap.

I stumbled; a fluttering of cloth caught my eye. There he was with his back to me. I yanked him away from the window with a jerk. "What are you doing?" I scolded him breathlessly. "You scared me to death!"

He looked as if he had been woken from a dream. "What are _you_ saying? You scared _me_ to death!" His eyes scanned me over. "Bella! Are you alright?"

"No. I almost had my heart broken. What do you think you're doing?" I yelled at him. He had the nerve to look bewildered.

"What do you think I'm doing?" I glared at him. He glanced toward the window, and started laughing. "You thought I'm going to jump?" I nodded wordlessly. He started to feel my forehead for a fever; I brushed his hand away impatiently.

Still grinning, he led me to the window ledge. "Now, tell me, love, why I would chose a window on the _first floor_ to jump to my death." I stared at the grassy ground two feet below me. But… I thought he was standing much higher than that. He laughed again at my dumbfounded expression. I felt a familiar warmth fan across my cheeks as they flushed red. He hugged me close; I breathed in his heavenly scent. "I missed you."

Smiling, despite my ludicrous presumption that he was going to commit suicide, I whispered back, "I missed you, too."

--A Day Later, Aboard _Twilight_—

I was in shock; I knew it. Otherwise, I would not be hallucinating ships trailing us everywhere. Every moment up on the crow's nest, I saw shadows of ships – large vessels that could carry over three hundred people with plenty of room to spare. _Twilight_ only had a capacity of a hundred people _without_ cargo. But every time I pointed one out, no one else saw them. I was 'advised' to see the ship doctor no less than seven times already.

Emmett just teased me, saying I was paranoid. Rosalie avoided me. I was, for the moment, straddling the spanker boom and leaning against the mizzen mast. I saw the ghostly ships _everywhere_… except on the boom: the sails were so tangled here that they blocked out the sight of almost everything.

And here, surrounded on all sides by the sound of fluttering sails, I recalled the nursemaid Charlie had hired for me on my first summer. Poor woman. She probably spent more time being seasick and green than actually looking after me. But, whenever the seas were calm at night, she would take me out to look at the stars. I looked up. She had pointed out the North Star. "If you are ever to follow it, Bella," she told me, "You will soon come to frozen lands where the skies are filled with the most spectacular light show in the winter and eternal sun in summer."

I never knew from where she came from. I wasn't sure Charlie knew, either. To this day, after around ten years of sailing to all sorts of foreign ports alone, I still never met anyone with her accent, or anyone who spoke her language. She sang to me. The last time I saw her, I had boastfully told her that I was not going to fall in love because I shall be a pirate. She just chuckled and told me to sing that song she taught me.

"Well, this is a nice spot you've found," a voice said. The sails parted to reveal Edward. With a grunt, he climbed on the boom to sit with me. I smiled at him, gesturing around.

"It seems the only place where I won't have these 'hallucinations' of ships."

"Alice agrees with you, but she doubts her 'sixth sense' for once." He shrugged. "I believe you, though." He reached forward to take one of my hands and started to trace patterns on it.

We fell silent again, both watching his aimless drawings on my hand. As he drew the same shape over and over again, I laughed. "You're drawing hearts!"

"I'm glad you didn't think it's an apple." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I am going to chase you, Bella."

I blinked. The song my old nursemaid had taught me came to my memories again. I knew there was something between us… but for him to voice his intentions… I was shocked enough to only say, "Why?"

His face broke into a grin. "Because you are in front of me."

I made a face at him. He was being a tease! "Well, that certainly answers that!" I replied sarcastically. "It would be quite hard to chase me if I were behind you." His grin broke. His eyes shimmered with mischief.

"You are going to pay for that," he yelled as he lunged for me. I yelped, hopping down from the boom and sprinting away with him at my heels. It was dark with only the moon and the stars lighting the way.

It was a hide-and-chase game. He was much faster than me, but bigger. Zigzagging my way around the small cargo boxes, leaping from the rails; I was tiring. Breathless, I hid behind a large sheet of canvas, only to see him peek there. He reached for me, but I hopped away, suddenly realizing I was caught.

He grabbed me around the waist, swinging me around in a full circle. Almost like when we first met, he wrapped his arm around me, bringing my back against his chest. Only this time, he rested his chin on my shoulder, looking out at the brightening horizon with me. "I found you," he whispered in my ear.

Remembering my old nursemaid again, I couldn't help but sing her song. **(A/N: this is the translation of the song. Link to the song on profile).**

_The reason the horizon shines__  
Is that somewhere it's hiding you.__  
The reason I long for the many lights  
__Is that you are there in one of them.__  
So, I set out, with a slice of bread,  
A knife, a lamp, stuffed in a bag._

I sang to him, pointing out the vanishing stars above. Edward stared at me, smiling. Perhaps he knew the words, too.

_Father left me his burning desire.  
Mother gave me her eyes.  
The earth turns, hiding you.  
Shining eyes, twinkling lights;  
The earth turns, carrying you,  
Carrying us both who'll surely meet._

He joined me, humming along.

_Father left me his burning desire.  
Mother gave me her eyes.  
The earth turns, hiding you.  
Shining eyes, twinkling lights;  
The earth turns, carrying you,  
Carrying us both who'll surely meet._

"And so we meet," I told him. I leaned close to him. "What do you claim as my payment?"

He blinked. His lips curled into a slow smile, remembering what started the wild chase in the first place. "I claim…" he drew it out. "This." He swooped down and captured my lips. I gasped; ever the pirate, he took advantage of my surprise. I was drunk, heady with the burst of emotions. When we broke apart, we were both dazed, breathing heavily.

"Edward," a voice chimed. We both groaned.

He let me go, answering the call. "Yes, Alice?" She appeared above us on deck.

"Nothing, brother, dear. Just want to warn you that there's a storm three days ahead. I think it's going to be a hurricane of some sort," she answered. "We might want to skirt it. We'll be just barely skimming its edges if we turn directions now." She made to turn around, but stopped mid-stride. "Bella, I would still recommend the ship doctor for you." I stuck my tongue out at her, but she was already gone.

"I'm surprised you weren't the first to tell me." Edward was looking at me quizzically. I shrugged.

"I'm not the most observant person when I'm distracted." Giving him a peck on the cheek, to the surprise of both of us, I left him, heading to my shift on watch.

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**So... Alice still hasn't given Bella her necklace back yet, and Edward is now enamoured with Bella. They do say that absense makes the heart fonder. Perhaps that's what happened? Idk if I'm making their relationship go too fast, though.**

**I'm hoping that the next update will be sometime next week or the week after... but see how I do.**

**And... if you haven't already, please go vote! I'm thinking of maybe 3 or 4 chapters +/- a short epilogue left :D So you've time to still ponder ;) **

**--Cathy  
**


	21. Power of the Amulet

**A/N: I am so so so so so so (times infinity & beyond) sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time. My excuse, lame as it might be, is that I have made a possible 'mistake' in taking a creative writing class. I'm having the time of my life writing short stories, poems, etc,etc that are in no way, shape, or form borderlining analysis and criticism that I'm all wrote-out. I was so engaged in all the other stories that I couldn't find the time nor 'creativity' to write/finish this chapter. I think my next update will be in around 2-3 weeks or so, when I have a long break again (so I can catch up with my homework and have time off to write). Again, I'm so very, very sorry about how long it took to get this one out (and it's not even that long/good --sigh--).  


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Chapter 20**

The storm came up swift and fast. Alice's predictions were off. The wind was already sweeping up waves that boiled with barely-suppressed anger beneath. Within seconds, the sky darkened to a near-midnight. Lightning threatened to split the sky in two; the air buzzed with power.

And then the rains fell.

Wave upon waves of rain drained from the sky. My senses prickled. I was soaked within seconds. I swung myself onto the deck, slipping when the boat tilted dangerously. Ship hands were trying to secure the sails as much as possible. Edward was at the steering wheel, squinting into the rain.

By now, the sea was in complete turmoil. If we were not to capsize, we had to face the waves head-on. Watching his intent gaze into the waves, I felt something click into place. Small details came to me: the course of the ship never changed; the sun rose from the same place on the horizon…

The flapping of a loose sail caught my attention. Stumbling over, I tried to tie the ropes back into place. My hands were shaking from the cold. The rope was too wet. Two angry welts appeared on my palm from my effort. I was grunting with the effort when a warm hand covered mine.

"Edward needs your eyes!" Jasper shouted. "I can tie this up."

"He doesn't need my nothing," I screamed back. "He needs to live up to his decisions."

Jasper ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up in all places. "But it no longer affects him," he called over the wind. "If any of these waves catches the ship side-on, we'll all die!" He tugged hard on the rope. "And get that damn necklace away from Alice. It has a mind of its own and it doesn't like her, and it's making me irritable."

Cursing as loud as possible, I stumbled over to the wheel. Edward was concentrating so hard that he didn't notice me until I touched his hand. He jumped; the wheel swerved dangerously to the right. I caught hold of it, squeezing into the small place between him and the wheel, glaring into the waves.

"Do you think you can handle it?" he said into my ear. I shivered.

"If we are going to die, I will kill you," I shouted back. His eyes flashed a sign of amusement.

"Agreed!"

He slipped away from me, and all of a sudden, I felt cold. The entire force of the ocean was cast against me, against the rudder. I didn't know when I started crying, nor when I bit my lip so hard that it bled. All I knew was the cold, the whipping storm, and the exhaustion. Every second lasted a year. The wheel had a demon mind of its own. It wanted to go with the flow of the churning seas; it wanted to give up. And every time it did, I wished I could give up to. It would be so easy. In the eye of the storm, it would be almost too easy to let go for a moment. And it would take only a moment for the waves to catch the rudder and bring the ship sidelong into its path.

But somehow, I found the strength to continue. Wave after wave. My hands were clenched so tight around the wheel, I wasn't sure I could let go if I wanted to. My muscles screamed of agony. There was only me, the wind, the seas, and the wheel.

Hours seemed to pass, but only mere minutes. The wind was blowing us in circles, enthralled in its grasp even as we struggled to escape.

And suddenly, Edward was there. Silently, he slipped beside me, his hands covering mine, lending me his strength, his warmth. I shivered against him, crying. He took the weight of the world away from me. It almost seemed as if we were joined in will. A simple nudge in one direction, and he'd do the rest.

I didn't know when he slipped the necklace back on my neck, but I felt the effects. It was warm, almost burning, against my skin. It shone a soft blue light that the darkness swallowed greedily.

I didn't know how long we stayed that way. The storm raged on and on, but we stood behind the wheel. He kept me from crumbling; I helped him navigate. My mind was numb, but tears continued to fall. I didn't know why I was crying, nor how to stop it. I only knew that the tears made everything hazy.

But little by little, the sky lightened. The sunlight burst through the clouds. As it shone on the small heart-shaped necklace, however, I felt a stab of crippling pain. Even as I sagged against Edward in relief, even as he kissed my tearstained cheeks, I felt it. The old menace in the air.

The relief on the ship was felt by all. Already, kegs of ale were drawn from the small barrel. Many ship hands, however, used the time to sleep. Collapsing amongst sagging sails, leaning against wooden crates – anywhere they could find, they did and slept.

"It's strange, how the morning dispels all storms," Edward said, one hand on the wheel, the other on my waist.

I said nothing, fingering the too-hot amulet. I couldn't think. My fingers burned from the amulet and yet I had no wish to let it go.

I slipped away from Edward's hold, shivering in my damp clothing. I made my way to the poop deck at the prow of the ship. Again, the faint images of phantom ships plagued me. Driven by a compulsion I couldn't explain, I took off my necklace.

And gasped.

It was no longer the necklace I knew. Over the time between when I first handed it to Alice to the duration of the storm, it had changed from a pure but opaque heart-shaped amulet to a clear sapphire crystal. And in its center were two things. One was a curled scroll; the other was a wooden rectangle shaped vaguely like a door.

The lookout shouted something unintelligible. I glanced to the seas again.

The phantom ships were no longer just phantoms. They were real – white, dazzling ships that seemed to sparkle in the early morning sunlight. We were in the middle of the loose ring that was closing around us each passing second.

And James was there, standing unmoving as a statue on the figurehead of the ship directly in front of me. Even from so far, I could see his eyes, his red eyes that seemed to glow brighter as he came closer. When he was only a hundred yards away, he seemed to have swelled in size. His voice carried over the gentle sound of the waves lapping.

"And so we meet again, Isabella," he said, his voice low.

"What do you want?" Edward called out from behind me. I jumped. I hadn't heard his approach.

James ignored him. "You know what I want, dear Isabella."

"And you won't get it!" I answered. My voice croaked.

"You know I will get it in the end, sweet," he said calmly. "Look around you. These ships aren't powered by humans. They are _my_ power. They are what I can do."

"I would rather die."

"But I will not kill you. Only you have what I want. Instead, you will see everyone you know die before you. Hand it over, and I will let them all go. Hand it over, and I can ensure their safety."

"You have nothing to make me trust you."

"And there's nothing you can do to prevent my taking of your amulet." He seemed to stand taller. I could see him clearly, even at this distance away. Slowly he raised a hand and flicked his finger. There was a screech and a loud splat. The watcher was taken from his post and dropped into the water. The water immediately turned red. He didn't survive the belly flop. I felt Edward's arm at my waist.

"Does that help your decision, Isabella?" I shuddered.

"If you're so powerful, then why don't you just take it?" His eyebrow raised. I felt invisible tendrils of power feeling against my neck, search for the amulet. When it found it, I gasped in pain. The amulet flared to life, a bright blue pulsing light beat from its depths. James's questing fingers retreated as if it burnt him.

He growled, the sound so low that the ship seemed to vibrate. His hand reached toward me. I felt the air around me harden, as if something solid was grasping for the glowing amulet. Desperately, instinctively, I thrashed in its grip, but I was against nothing but air. When the two touched, I cried out. The amulet flared brighter. And in return, I felt as if a thousand needles pierced into me. The grasping _something_ recoiled.

Edward caught me. His hands were cool against my skin. The needles didn't hurt where he touched me. I leaned into his hold.

"Bella! Your nose is bleeding," he whispered worriedly, one hand coming up to wipe away a drop of blood.

I didn't have time to ponder on his words. The next moment, I heard James cry out. A blast of singeing air blew around me. The amulet floated. The scalding heat… I could barely breathe. The sapphire shone brighter. And, like a bottomless hole, the heat formed a ring around it and disappeared in its depths.

James's rage was palpable. The air cracked. Shouts were heard as shipmates randomly fell as if something knocked them over in the corner of my eye. Tears leaked from my eyes. I wished with all that was left of my will that I could take this as it was meant to be: _my_ burden. I prayed that there would be no more deaths.

I knew I had to be delirious. I couldn't hear, I couldn't see. My vision narrowed to the fire engulfing James and the power he wielded. I felt for Edward, but he wasn't there. The amulet glowed defiantly blue in the red and black that wanted to swallow us whole. The red and black fire that was already burning me away.

James laughed. For the first time, I noticed Victoria beside him. Victoria, who was giving all her strength to him. She loved him. But he was too power hungry to return it. He loved power above all else. And yet, that was my only hope…

"Victoria!" I called out, even though my voice came out a whisper. "You know why he is doing this. He doesn't return your affections. Why help him when he's only using you?"

She didn't speak. A flash of pain flared in her red eyes, but it was gone in an instant. If anything, she gave even more power to James.

"I find it better to stay with the one I love than never see him again," she finally replied calmly. "You deserted your love in trying to save them all. You're more noble than me, but also infinitely more miserable because of it!"

Her words hurt. My calm mask slipped. They guffawed. "Welcome to the world of souls, Isabella. The world you will soon never be able to visit again, for you will no longer have one!"

I didn't have time to react. The bolt of energy was too strong. I felt myself being flung backwards. I faintly heard my head crack against something hard. There was no blood, only pain. The amulet tried to protect me, as if it had a mind of its own. I was under a soothing spell.

And I knew nothing more.

--Interlude—

Edward knew the moment when Bella went unconscious. It was the moment when James disappeared. It was the moment when the amulet dropped back, limp. It was the moment when he noticed that he was back in familiar waters – the seas near Twilight Bay.

She was stiff as a board, but at the slightest touch, she crumbled into his arms. He tried to wake her, but apart from incoherent mutterings, she was unresponsive.

Worried, he snapped at everyone who appeared in front of him. He carried her into his cabin, leaving only for a few moments to give orders for the ship to navigate to the Bay.

And then he went back to Bella's side. Her hands were getting colder, her mutterings more and more infrequent. Until, she was quiet all together. Her breaths were shallow and far too infrequent. If he held his breath, the room would be devoid of any sound all together.

And her breaths stopped. Moments later, she gasped, her hand clutching around the amulet. Her knuckles were white. He heard the sound of breaking glass. She suddenly let go of the amulet, revealing a blue heart-shaped, but cracked amulet. It was still for a moment, and then shattered.

The ship docked.

Terrified, Edward took her in his arms and hopped from the ship, sprinting for the mansion, all the while chanting a silent mantra: "Bella can't die. Bella can't die…"

--

Ranslaw straightened after completing his prayer. He knew the storm at sea would have escaped even Key's 'trouble detector'. Only a seer could _see_ the storm before it was too late. Brushing off his old cloak, he left the church and headed toward the docks. If those blasted wizards had done what they promised to do, the _Twilight_ would have docked by now. If anything went wrong…

A long stream of curses fell from his mouth. Just ahead, he saw Edward running, carrying a figure. A girl that he'd knew anywhere. "Bella…"

She was pale – paler than normal. Her hands hung limply. Her eyes fluttered open and close, but he knew they saw nothing of the real world. They were glazed. A milky white substance covered over her once-sparkling irises. With a sinking heart, he realized the truth. Bella, Key, was dying. And dying quickly. Whatever battle she had fought was not in a place they could see. And no one could help her.

Ranslaw started. "Where's the amulet?" he questioned Edward as he gently laid Bella on a feathered mattress in the Cullen mansion.

Edward held out a hand, revealing a hand cut and bleeding by the sharp shards of the broken amulet. Ranslaw stifled a gasp. He dug deep into his cloak, pulling out a large packet. Quickly, he opened it and pulled out a crystal bottle. Whispering some words and pouring a few drops of the liquid inside on Edward's hand, he watched with startled eyes as the cuts miraculously healed. The shards of the amulet gathered themselves together. When the last piece was placed together, there was a bright flash and two distinct clinks.

Edward gasped. On his hand were now two sapphire amulets. One of them a large sapphire shell covering black mists, the other carrying a carefully rolled-up scroll of paper.

Slowly, their gazes locked. "You know how to save her." It wasn't a question. Ranslaw nodded. "Then do!"

"Only you can save her. Aro. He bounded the two of you together. I wasn't even supposed to help you!" He took a deep breath. "But how could I leave my daughter to die?"

"You are…?"

"Charles Swan, her father. The father who has a long story and apology for her. The father who, if you don't hurry, will never get to say them to her!" Charles thumped Edward on the head. "Are you ready to save her, my boy?"

Edward nodded mutely.

Charles picked up one of Bella's cold hands, trying to furiously rub some warmth back. Turning to Edward behind him, he began, "Listen carefully now, for you shall hear these instructions only once…"

* * *

**--sigh-- only about 2 more chapters left. I am saddened... but also sort of glad, I guess. This story is finally tying up some of its lose ends ^_^.**

**And at the right time, too, I would think. I feel like my chapters are just getting worse and worse... so it's good that I'm ending this story before it becomes completely terrible to read. There's a lot of magic in this chapter. For now, I'll just say: believe what you read is what happened in Bella and Edward's world, for I have no better explanations than that it's just magic.**

**--Cathy**

**P.S. I love the epilogue I wrote for this story, even though I haven't even really started on the next chapter yet lol.  
**


	22. Into the Abyss

**AN: WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING -----**

**Lol... now that I've got your attention (hopefully), read on. **

**This chapter is one of the worst chapters I have ever written. One, because I was going through the tortures of college decisions coming out through the middle of it, and two because I've been so busy that it took me the past 2 + months to plan and write this out. So in an attempt to prevent myself from getting bombed by readers saying, "**Cathy! You IDIOT! How could you ruin this story?!**" (even though the quality of work has been going down the drain the past few chapters already), skip to the end-of-chapter AN  
**

**For those of you who aren't satisfied by my 1-sentence summary/don't believe me, you can read on. And then tell me that this 2nd-to-last chappy ruined the entire climax and was totally not worth the wait.**

**Be warned: It is bad and uses a form of back-and-forth point of view kinda like the one they do in movies when something bad is about to happen to one person while the other's trying desperately to be on time to save said person.  
**

**

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Chapter 21**

--Edward--

I landed nimbly on my feet, my eyes momentarily blinded by the darkness. Charles had already warned me about this place – the alter world, the world where rules didn't make sense. The place where, one misstep could take me plunging into a part of the maze where I could never hope to get out, much less find Bella. I reached out and touched a wall – a wall that seemed both there and not there at the same time. I felt, if I could push hard enough, I could push completely through it. _Take seven steps in the direction you face following the wall_, his instructions echoed. Suppressing a strange shudder, I walked. _Turn to the right and push against the wall. It will travel backwards until it could no longer do so. Walk through it._

Another shudder. The wall felt almost liquid around me as I forced myself through. It was like walking through jelly. There wasn't room to struggle and it took an amazing amount of strength to take even one step. The silence was deafening. I couldn't even hear my own harsh breathing, even though I was sure of its existence. I could hear the sound of my pulse in my ears, getting louder, faster…

And I burst through, only to be blinded…

--Bella--

My head pounded. There was an odd sort of screeching in my ears. Laughter. The sort of evil cackle that made you wince.

Groggily I opened my eyes. It was dark, but there were light cast from strange figures – blobs, more like. I tried to move, but I found myself beneath a sort of rubble. After some intense wiggling, my hands were free. I thought I heard a few rocks clatter at the movement. I tensed. The figures were suddenly still. So still that their dim light blended into the darkness.

--Edward--

The antechamber I burst into was not what I had expected at all. Light was cast blindingly from above. If I held my breath still, I could hear faintly of church music and the beating of thousands of wings. Unwillingly, I did exactly that – hold my breath, and took a tentative step in the direction of the music, hoping to hear it. Three, maybe four, I don't know, lost count, steps more and I felt myself going faint. My eyes snapped open – I didn't know when I closed it. The room was dark once more. The floor was soft, wet, and squelched. I quickly stepped back. _Whatever you do, don't follow the singing angels. They lead into the stomach of the Worm. The eternally hungry worm that created that void in the first place. You will die there, in spirit and in body. And Bella will die in that Godforsaken place._

My stomach churned. So I was on the tongue. For the first time since I was but five, I drew a cross and prayed to that faraway God, thanking him…

--Bella--

The figures approached me. It wasn't until I smelled an excruciating stench that I realized the surrounded me. I felt soft touches against my exposed skin. And immediately after, I felt myself burning from the inside. Upon their touch again, I was normal, cooled. They let go and I was burning in Hell. I tried to scream, but found all sound oddly muffled. There were twitches and chittering buzzing in my ears. They were talking to each other. But one word was clear: They were chanting "death, death, death" over and over again.

And I felt formless hands grab my wrist. I felt almost torn apart as I was pulled from beneath the rubble. Manacles held my hands together. I didn't dare say or do anything but follow them where I was pulled… What happened?

--Edward--

I nearly fell off the cliff. Only quick reflexes had saved me from doing so. I continued on with Charles's instructions, hoping that my missteps didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. It was now dark. I couldn't see my hand in front of me even when my palm hit my nose. The hair on the back of my neck straightened. Apart from resounding waves, there was no sound. I couldn't even hear myself breathe.

And then there was a flash of light. A meteor streaked across the sky, lighting up my surroundings before it plummeted into the water. In the its fading glow, I saw a wave rise toward the shore. There was also that ancient pine I was told of. The pine whose roots guard the entrance to the room of mirrors, the place where I would find Bella, if I was not too late…

--Bella--

It was strange, traveling with these creatures. They did not exactly touch me. Several times I tripped. They had tried to help me, but I passed through them as if they were mere smoke. And every time, I'd feel cooled. I stopped touching them, and it'd feel like my skin was blistering for minutes to come.

The terrain was rocky. Dark. I could barely see what I'd be stepping on next. Bones, rocks, old skeletons of long-dead plants. The place was flat and had an incredible stench.

A light flared. My eyes squeezed shut. When I opened them again, they were blinded. I was in a circular room. The figures who brought me here were no where to be seen. Perhaps they were ghosts. Perhaps that's why they disappeared – the light was drowning them out.

I take that back about the circular room. More like a cathedral. There ceiling, if there was one, stretched into the darkness above. All around were mirrors. Millions, billions of mirrors. I could see my reflection. Only, it wasn't me. There were people in them. People walking all around me. They were pale and thin, wore long sleeves. If I held still, I could almost hear their old bones creaking. I couldn't see their faces.

I had walked to the center. It was then that I found out there was no real light source. It was a bowl of crystalline water. Inside was my amulet, whole and pulsing with light. Instinctively, I reached for the place where my own amulet hung. I gasped. It was there! And it was pulsing. My heart beat in tune with it. I let its steadiness lull me…

--Edward—

I could hear the singing. Every step I took closer to that ancient pine, the singing got louder. My heart pounded in tune with the beat. My breaths came in short burst. I had to get there before the singing stopped.

Then why does the tree seem to be further and further away from me?

--Bella--

I woke when the first pain started. The amulet was still beating steadily. But was no longer as radiant. It was no longer peaceful.

It started with my toes. A strange sort of burning sensation that made me uncomfortable. It was as if it fell asleep… or was set on a smoldering fire as it slowly gained temperature. I looked around me. The people in the mirrors were no longer facing away from me. And I suddenly realized that they weren't quite… alive. Dead skeletons, all of them. Several wore old expensive robes, but most were dressed in peasant clothing – the ones they had several hundred years ago.

"What do you want?" I croaked. My voice wasn't working very well.

One of them in the mirrors reached for my reflection. I screamed.

--Edward--

I heard her scream. It rang in my ears. My heart beat faster when the screaming cut short with a strange gurgle. Did she die? Please don't let her die! I pumped my legs faster, each breath felt like daggers to my lungs. I had to do this… Bella!

--Bella--

I was burning in Hell. I was being ripped apart and put together again. I wasn't sure who they were or what they wanted. I suddenly knew that my pulsing amulet was tied to my heart. It had to keep beating. When the light fades, I will fade.

Impulsively, I tried fighting back. It hurt. Worse than before, but I tried. I kicked and tumbled and tried to dodge away from the faces in the mirrors. There were too many of them. I couldn't catch them all. I had too many reflections. Each touch of my reflection crippled me. I felt as if I was thrown against the mirrors.

I was going to die. Or lie here, in the coldest spot of Hell.

The thought made me renew my efforts. No! I wasn't ready! I wanted to beat Emmett in arm wrestling one day. I wanted to beat Jasper fairly in swordplay. I wanted to have kids with Edward…

I stumbled. I didn't realize how dim it had gotten. I tried walking, but ran directly into something… something somewhat soft. He was dressed completely in black. I fell backwards, too weak to catch myself. He reached out a hand, as if to help me up. I started shaking my head. Moments later, I heard him speak.

"Your time has come, Isabella. Come with me. I shall escort you to the next part of your journey. Come with me, and I'll take you to see everything you've wished to know. Come with me…" His voice was deep and resounding with power. Almost unwillingly, I reached out a hand. I watched my finger tips get closer and closer to his…

"Bella! No!"

My fingers brushed his before I was jerked violently back. But in that moment, I knew. Edward was here. The gate was sealed. The daemons escaped… and I hear… James?

--Edward--

I saw her when I stumbled headlong into the room. It was dim; she was the only light source. Her hair was in disarray, her body splayed in a grotesque angle, as if haphazardly thrown. Her fingers were outstretched towards the mirror.

"Bella! No!" I shouted to her. She paused, whimpering. I sprang towards her, cradling her head, bringing her hands – so cold – into mine.

"Edward…" she whispered hoarsely. "Edward…"

"I'm here. I'm here."

"R-remember when you once w-wanted to k-kill me?" Her voice was faint. She smiled when I shook my head. I didn't want to. "Pretend you did. Pretend you feel that way again. Let me go and escape while you can."

"I didn't come all the way here just to leave you. I'll carry you out, or die trying."

"No!" She coughed at her outburst. There was a gurgling sound and a small trickle of blood flowed from her lips. Weakly wiping her mouth, she stared at me. "James is dead. Victoria's dead. In trying to conquer the devil, he'd become consumed by it." She struggled with something, and then a cool object was pushed into my hand. "This is my heart," she said. "It shines when I'm alive. If you get out of here, I will live on." I looked down. It was her amulet. "It has always belonged to you…" And she fainted. **(A/N: this line taken from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie "at world's end". I watched it for the first time today! Silly of me, to watch the trilogy starting with the last movie lol)**

The amulet sparkled in my hand. "No!"

It was then that I became aware of my surroundings. The mirrors were dark.

I had no reflection.

I had to get out of here.

--Interlude--

"Tell me why you sent my daughter to protect that old amulet when you knew where it was and could've easily taken it to keep safe yourself!" Charles shouted to Aro, pacing. "You knew she was going to die, didn't you? You had this elaborate plan to destroy the amulet once and for all, and you tied _my_ daughter's life to it! How could you?"

"I didn't know she was going to die. I thought you were going to die…" Aro cursed, realizing what he said.

"Of course you thought I'd brought the amulet to the bottom of the sea with me!" Charles marched toward Aro. "You thought my death would bring the end of the amulet. But ol' Jack's treasure trove never fit into your little formula did it? Nor the fact that _I_ didn't have the amulet."

"Of course his treasure didn't fit! How was I to know that he had to keep his bloody treasure at that bloody cave the maelstrom drains into? And that he'd have not only a way out, but _five_ ways out!" Charles snorted and rolled his eyes. "And I had _told_ you to never let the amulet out of your sight… and what did you do? Oh yes, stored it in a _box_. And not only a box, but a _metal_ box with _metal_ locks! Do you know it's hard enough for the mental connection between that amulet and me over long distances? And you had to make it go all haywire, too." Charles snorted.

"On that same logic, you never thought Jack had dug not only one, but three paths from that treasure trove. You never even believed in the old tale that he'd stored the map of the place into the amulet."

"And I never thought Edward had the key…" supplied Aro weakly. "But you don't even need the key anymore. Look!"

Nearby, on a bed, Edward gasped. Lying beside him, Bella's hand reached to clutch the amulet – the amulet had cracked and small rivers of blood welled. Aro stared.

"I suppose he found her… and I'm guessing she's in none too well of a shape either."

Charles was immediately beside his daughter, wiping her sweaty brows, praying. Watching them, Aro sighed.

"Brothers!" he called out. Marcus and Caius appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "It's time we do what we should've done a long time ago. It's time we confront that devil-pretending daemon."

--End Interlude--

--Edward--

Bella stirred in my arms as I ran with her. I'd barely made it out of that cursed room of mirrors before the entire place exploded. The devil's rage was on.

"Put me down and escape," she murmured. She didn't struggle. It was so unlike her to not struggle.

"We're going to make it out together," I panted out. She seemed to grow heavier and heavier by the second. "Just hang on."

"I'm slowing us down! You could escape. I could hold them back." I glared at her rather than wasting breath to argue. She harrumphed. "Fine! Be that way! But, if you're going to die, I'm going to kill you."

"Agreed," I gasped, pumping my legs harder. She clung to me, trying to keep her weight off of my arms as I ran. It helped little. _They_ were following. We could both hear the anguished cries.

"They're following us. It's _them_ – the faceless people who live in the mirrors." I gave her a look, too tired to do anything else. She smiled weakly at me. "The further we get from that cursed place, the better I feel. Death resided in that place." She shuddered. "He won't be very kind to the next people who go to see him."

--Bella--

I tried to be the best actor. I distracted him. I rambled on and on about senseless things, trying to plan. He shouldn't have come. They wouldn't take kindly to him. And he didn't have the strength to keep running as he did. They were right behind him, on his heels, silent as the moon. He didn't notice them, but he slowed down enough that they could easily surround him. But they didn't.

They stared at me with their sightless eyes. I was the one that ran away. They wouldn't touch Edward if I stayed.

"I love you," I told him suddenly. His run faltered, but resumed its pace. He needed air too much to gasp out a reply. "Run like the wind, Edward," I whispered. I brought my knee up, using his shoulder as leverage. Brushing a kiss across his cheek, I kicked his arms away as I somersaulted over his shoulder, landing in a crouch. The forms were all around me then, pulling, tugging, draining me of what little energy I had regained.

I heard Edward yell as he backtracked. He couldn't get close. I smiled at him. I wanted him to run. And his face disappeared from sight. I whimpered when the pain came back. The pain – as if I was boiling into oblivion. I heard daemon cackle, heard him speak incoherently… and then everything was gone in a flash of light…

--Interlude 2--

Aro stepped in front of a faint Edward, blocking his path as they watched a dark form hover over a body. "You will stop struggling and let us handle it," he commanded. Edward's eyes glazed over, and he stilled.

"Laurent, it is very nice to see you again," he greeted the daemon. The dark form seemed to unfold itself from Bella.

"Aro! How charming it is to see you," a deep voice resounded. "And what gifts you've brought with you. You shouldn't have."

"James and Victoria? I assume they're one of your… minions now."

"To the outside. Not in ways that truly matter." Aro's eyes widened.

"James has reign over you." It wasn't a question.

Laurent trembled as if conflicted. "He has as much power over me as I have over him. He could not stay if I go. He will lose all his power past the gate."

"Leave the girl and go back into your kingdom." Aro's hands began to glow. "Go back and bring all your power with you." Caius drew signs in the air. The signs glowed until a swiveling sword appeared. "Leave this place of lost souls, and we will spare you." Marcus whispered words and his beard was suddenly glowing. He frowned but let it go. It gave him a nice-looking halo, he decided quickly.

Laurent shook violently once, twice. And he retreated. The wizards followed them. In their wake, the barren landscape was suddenly transformed into the maze of rooms and hallways Edward had first encountered. But he didn't notice the change.

He cradled Bella in the darkness and whispered the words that Charles had written for him. He felt himself lifted from the ground…_Take us home_.

--End Interlude --

--Bella-- (**End of crazy pov-changes thingy; certain lines come from Twilight**)

My eyes opened to a bright light. The pillows and the bed were the softest I'd ever had. When I tried to move, though, I found myself utterly weak and exhausted. Beside me someone chuckled.

"Water?" I croaked. A cup was instantly pressed to my lips. But I was lying down. The water trickled down my chin. Edward was suddenly was before me, wiping away the spilled water. He smiled at me, though I saw the black circles around his eyes. And then he disappeared from view. I tried to follow him with my eyes but it hurt too much to move.

A moment later, he was back with a new cup. Eyes on me, he sipped the water and lowered his mouth to mine. The tenderness made my eyes tear up.

"I was so worried that you might not wake up," he said, lips brushing against my face. "Charles said that you were pretty hurt back in the abyss and that you might…" He choked.

"Charles?" I inquired.

"Charles _Swan_, Bells. Your father."

I felt my heart rate speed up. Father? Alive? "He's…" I couldn't finish.

"Yes. He's been following you and trying to protect you and the necklace since he escaped." His eyes sparkled. And then frowned when I didn't say anything. "Bella? Are you alright?"

"Nay. I think I was pulled apart into a million pieces and put together again. And I was also told that my dead father wasn't dead." He chuckled.

"Welcome to life." He paused, his smile gone. "He'll tell his story to you in his own time. But now you must rest." He brushed a light kiss to my forehead. "Sleep, sweetheart." And I was lulled to sleep by his beautiful humming.

* * *

**So now that you've made it so far... you can yell at me to your pleasure.**

**--Summary--**

**Edward goes into the abyss, saves Bella with some minimal trouble, and Bella just found out her father's alive**

**--End Summary--**

**There is one last chapter (a fluff chapter in cathy-style). I'll get that out in 2-3 weeks, if Research Presentation Day and papers and AP studying leave me with the time. The bulk of it is planned out since the beginning of the story and have not changed throughout, so I've decent hopes for it being a good chapter. However, due to AP's and Prom and graduation and so on, if I do get really, really busy, the next and last chappy will be out first week of June (at latest).**

**Sincerely sorry for the completely unedited, terribly-written chapter,  
--Cathy**


	23. In the Eye of the Storm

**A/N: Short chapter. Works as an epilogue. Didn't turn out exactly as I'd envisioned it. I had fun writing the last ExB scene. The Bella and Charlie scene was poorly thought out. By the very, very end, I think I got bored writing or something. I hope you enjoy E finally beating B in an argument (somehow) lol.**

**And I apologize for not keeping to my schedule in the last chappy. I suppose, since I've your attention now, I can formulate an excuse... Thing is, I had so much trouble choosing between two of my colleges that everything's still not set in stone yet. I flitted between two colleges all of April. Come 1st of May, I chose one, and my counselor said that if I ever change my mind, he can talk to the other to see if they can still accept me. And I was back at square one. And even now, I still haven't told come to terms with everything myself... it hurts so much. Anyways... happy reading )).  
**

**

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Chapter 22 (Epilogue)  
**

The sun was streaming through the small gaps in the curtains when I woke. Charlie was sitting beside me, staring off into the walls.

"Dad?" I whispered, still not believing that he could've lived for all those years without contacting me.

"Bells." He coughed; his eyes darted away.

"Dad!" I said, louder, sitting up to hug him. His arms wrapped me tight, just like when I was younger. "All these years, and you're still alive!" I swung my arm at him. "Why didn't you come find me?"

He was silent. "I-…" He unwrapped my arms from around him and stood up. "It's really… difficult… for me to recount the story." He sighed. "Stay quiet, Bells, or I might lose the courage to tell it."

I waited for him to continue. He paced as he talked, looking everywhere but at me.

"The whirlpool leads to an underground pocket of air. The _Swan_ broke into pieces there. I stayed there for days, if my stomach is any indicator of time. I used the broken _Swan_ as firewood and survived on fish and few supplies that survived into the alcove. It was only after I had burnt over half of the wood that I realized there shouldn't be that much fresh air under the sea unless there's some way out.

"The next few days I spent catching weeks' worth of fish and water and made a make-shift sled to carry it and firewood. I walked deeper into the cave, hoping to find a flicker of wind… anything to indicate where the air comes from.

"On the fifth day, my torch flickered out in an intense gust. I stumbled blindly, looking for the source. There is a hole there, and some sort of magic guarding it. I fell in the hole… the bottomless hole. I don't know how long I fell before I saw the light. The light that got brighter and brighter until I tumbled into a cave entrance. And that's where I met Fate herself, talking with Aro about your future."

He suddenly stopped. "They caught me trying to run away to warn you, to help you make your decisions." He took a deep breath. "I'm not exactly human anymore, Bells." He threw open the windows, and completely disappeared from view, save for his clothes. It looked like an invisible cloth hanger was holding them in place. My mouth dropped open "The sun makes me invisible, and the moon makes me a nondescript shadow. I serve Fate; I have her knowledge; nothing could ever kill me, except my own family." The curtains closed, and Charlie reappeared. "I am bound as a guardian to my kin. When the last of my blood descendents die, I will cease to exist."

"That's it?" I blurted without thinking.

"What do you mean, 'that's it'? Don't you care that I'm not human? That I'll live longer than you? That I'll forever be a babysitter to _your_ children? your grandchildren? your grandchildren's children?" He threw his arms up, suddenly enraged.

"No. Because you will always be my father. And you'll make a wonderful guardian. And I don't have to find money for a tutor or caretaker… ever!" He snorted.

"And you will always be my daughter."

***

The sea never smelled more enticing than when I was finally allowed to walk about. Father left not a week ago. It felt inexplicably _good_ to suddenly have family after so many years. I still couldn't grasp exactly how I feel, knowing that my father will outlive me… if I have a child.

I studied the figure standing on the deck shouting orders. _Edward_. If he doesn't marry me, there will never be a child. I blushed, shaking away my thoughts. He cared about me, or he wouldn't have saved me…

"Key! Are you coming on the ship or not?" a voice shouted. I looked up. Jasper was tossing me a cable. I smiled. He knew me well. I caught the cable and pushed off, swinging over the side of the ship.

"Of course I'm coming. You can't get rid of me that easily!"

Someone chuckled behind me. I jumped. I'm getting rusty, if people could sneak up on me like that. "You don't know just how easy you can be rid of, little Bella," Edward whispered in my ear. I shivered. He used the moment of distraction to pick me up and dangle me over the side of the ship. I yelped.

"Edward, let go of me this instant!" His hands shifted. I looked down and changed my mind. If he dropped me, I'd be in the ocean… and I've no intention of getting wet this early in the morning. "Don't let go!" I pleaded, when his hands made to drop me again. He laughed. Oh, that arrogant jerk! "You are dead, Edward! Dead, you hear me?"

One of his hands let go. I yelped and clung to his other hand. "Hmm… I have a beating heart. I'm breathing. I can talk…" His hand returned to hold me up. "Nope. I'm not dead."

"You will when I get out of this situation!"

"In that case, I won't save you, for my life," he laughed. His hold loosened for a second. I slipped until he was holding me by my armpits. "Now, Bella, what do you say?"

"I know how to bring you down with me." I grounded out. He chuckled.

"Nope. That's not going to save you." My teeth clicked together.

"Edward? May you please save me?" I seethed out.

He swung me back on deck. As soon as my feet touched stable ground, I raised my hand, intent on beating the lights out of him. He caught my arm easily, pinning it down.

"I can still hurt you," I told him. He smiled, pressing a kiss to my lips. I stilled.

"And I have my ways to make sure you don't," he replied, smirking.

"You –" kiss. "arrogant-" kiss. "stinky-" kiss. I groaned. Another kiss from him. "Stop k-" kiss. I sank into him. He kissed me, the lightest touching of lips, lingering. I surrendered to him, pulling him in, deepening the kiss.

I pulled away first when I felt my head spinning from lack of air. My eyes opened – I didn't even realize they were closed. His smoldering green eyes made the butterflies fly in my stomach. I blinked, for once speechless.

"Am I forgiven?"

"Aye," I heard myself answer. I shook my head clear, resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him. "But this doesn't mean I won't kill you." He burst out laughing, hugging me close.

"That's what I love about you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "That I will kill you?" But I was warm on the inside. I am loved!

"That you keep a clear head," he responded, laughing. He suddenly became serious again. "Isabella 'Key' Swan, I don't really know when I started falling in love with you. You don't know how many times I wished you were a girl the first few days my ship. I wanted you to cower before me – to show some sort of _weakness_ so I won't be feeling this way. And when you came back, I wished so much that you were the girl I met in the alleyway. I love you." He paused. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. "Would you marry me, so I can spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you and cherish that you are who you are?"

I trembled. "Yes, I will marry you," I answered, tasting the words. I smiled; his face lit up like the sun, brightening my world. "Aye, I'll marry you," I repeated, louder, laughing. He picked me up and swung me around in a circle. "Even though I'll spend the rest of time regretting it."

He huffed. "Some faith, Bella!" I hugged him.

**

The wedding was a small one held on the ship. Edward gave me a sapphire-encrusted ring – delicate but beautiful. I gave him the amulet, fixed by a combined effort from Charlie, Aro, Caius, and Marcus. It was a magic trinket. It was the part that ol' Robert Jenkins added – the key to all his treasures… in the heart of the maelstrom that once almost took my father's life.

But just because we had treasure doesn't mean we all stopped terrorizing the seas. It was simply too much fun stopping ships, crossing swords, and terrorizing a few hundred men… before we bow, thank them for a good time, and leave with a few new sword tokens strapped to our sides.

_~The End_~

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**So... what do you think? I'm thinking of rewriting parts of this... it really doesn't live up to my dreams. The Charlie-Bella conversation ended with a too-cheesy note. I guess laying off writing in the midst of prom, graduation, and choosing colleges will do that to you - making you really unsure exactly what your visions are.**

**In other news, the poll for the next story's going to close 2 weeks from now. I don't know anything about when I'll feel up to starting (and finishing) another story, but I'll post a notice on this story when that happens. I think I want to sort out my colleges first, and get all the forms in, and come to terms that I'm going to cmu mainly because it's cheaper, and it has a better cs program... and my parents are willing to pay for education rather than the college experience, and lots of other things (such as the fact that college dorms don't have private ensuite bathrooms that you share with only your roommate like my highschool dorm does or the fact that dorms are more than 2 stories tall or the fact that each wing doesn't have a wing lounge, but rather each floor has a lounge, if you're lucky).**

**Lastly, I want to thank everyone that made this story possible. From your encouraging reviews to your patience while I struggled with my life and set this story aside. Without you all, I would never have the endurance to even make it half way through the story. And I promise that someday, this last chappy/epilogue-thing --will-- be rewritten to be a perfect ending.**

**Until next time,  
--Cathy**

**PS: as with all my other stories, if you're reading this a month from now, two months, a year, so on, I'd still like to hear your thoughts on what went well and what didn't. Constructive criticism is much appreciated.**


	24. New Story

** A/N: Hey, just a little note that I am starting a new story. Sadly, it isn't the winner of the voting (done ages ago), which is "When you tame a vampire". Some of you may have known that I posted a not-really-one-shot last year sometime... and it had been bugging me because it wasn't really a one-shot in the convenient definition of the word. So I decided to expand on it some more. The story is titled "Your in perfect world" (a play on words = "your imperfect world" and "you're in (a) perfect world"), title jipped from a friend. I hope you guys enjoy it :)**

**Current summary: Bella has done it again. In a few short minutes of conversation, managed to finagle a big check towards the charity. The unwilling donor, Edward, had sworn revenge. But how will Bella take it when he starts to shower her with flowers and affection?**

**Thanks,**

**Cathy**


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